If you are into characters as shallow as a Kardashian, enough plot holes to make IN-DOT proud, HATE books where you can’t go more than a page without reviewing Char stats, and think deus ex machina is VASTLY underused in LITRPG, this is NOT FOR YOU! Go on, GIT! Don’t you turn around and look at me like that! Keep moving!

OK! If you’ve experienced any of Rowland’s prior works, then you have at least have an idea off the ride you’re about to take. 😉 If you haven’t, well buckle up buttercup.

The Writing: Esil may be an orphan, but this ain’t no Dickens story, though in all fairness it IS a dickens of a tale! Light and fast: unlike a shift in the data mines, there are no endless grinds waiting for what happens next. Great characters that not only grow and change, but do so organically and in ways that make sense! No dreading that final chapter Dues Ex that ruins the story, it’s all sparkly and what gets everything rolling in the first place! Fast paced, descriptive writing that lets you ‘see’ the story without getting bogged down in minutea! Enough Stats that you can ‘feel’ the growth and the danger, but not so heavy it feels like you’re reading a DND manual.

The Story: This is the tale of Pip, and orphaned Blacksmith’s son, who… Wait, no, that is in fact Dickens. Hang on. Ah yes! Esil, a completely different orphan, making his way in a ‘bit’ of a dystopian world slaving away in the digital mines. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Fortune smiles upon Esil, and he’s given the opportunity to ‘escape’, travel the endless worlds of Pangea Online, change his life, and perhaps even the lives of those he holds most dear. Gets ya right in the feels, and then proceeds to keep hitting you there when it’s not nailing you with shots of adrenaline!

The Narration… A word of warning there… Once you’ve exhausted all your searches for Rowland, you are most likely (or at least SHOULD be) going to be adding James, Hayes, and Winkel to your search terms in the future. They’re pretty awesome, and they do a ‘lil’ bit of work on other LitRPG audiobooks. You could say they’re artists who are literary drug dealer on the side… Well, maybe not you. I do, just did, whatever. Excellent dictation, voices, and emotive expression from all! Not a single Alexa or Ben Stien to be found.