Very enjoyable.

Some genuine laugh out loud moments and a good story that pays off. Buying book two now.

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What can I say? I enjoyed it.

The story won't win a Pulitzer prize but who is awarding these prizes anyway. This story is delightful entertainment. When you read this, do check out Dungeon Crawler Carl too ;-)

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Fun adventure

Listen to this after the singer crawler and just a fun read. Some easy listening

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1 person found this helpful

superb voice actor and a decent story

First off, the narrator is among the best I've ever heard - especially with the sheer number of diverse voices she was tasked with. It's hard to believe there weren't multiple performers.

Now to the story. I suppose it sounds obvious, but you really do have to enjoy games to like this book. It is basically one huge piece of clever nostalgia and Easter egg hunting, much of which is put in without context and so would be lost on readers who didn't have a base knowledge of gaming.
Having said that, I think the author made some really creative choices with the magic lore and aspects of their journey and problem solving. The reason behind the game being switched on was actually very good and justified. I loved the set up of the first village, I thought it was depicted flawlessly and I could see all of the NPCs and their roles within the village perfectly.

I wish we'd have gotten to know Gretchen a bit more - Poppy and Jonah both had clear motivations and struggles, whereas Gretchen felt like the Mary Sue with all the answers and nothing more.

There were aspects of this book I really liked, but I did find some of it lacking, particularly the dialogue. Can a character please respond to a situation with a phrase other than 'what the hell', it got soo repetitive. The dialogue in general either felt like exposition speeches often found in games or really clunky ba k and forths that were quite robotic.
Secondly, the pacing. I actually loved the first part of this book and thought it was a five star story before they left the original town.And that is partly because I thought the pacing was perfect - the build up, the problems encountered, the initial and secondary Climax with a twist. exactly what you'd want. But I didn't feel like this continued. Things were either WAY too difficult, or WAY too easy. they encountered small obstacles that took up so much time and blockade after blockage to circumnavigate. Yet, the final hurdle felt massively rushed and easy.

I actually think this would make a much better game than a book. I'd play this, and I'm glad I read it, but I almost wish it had been a wee novella that stopped before they left the initial village.
again, the actress was out of this world so it's a great choice to listen to it on Audible if you decide to give it a go.

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Not Carl but pretty good

Dinniman stands above many other LitRPG authors in that he really sells his premise. He doesn't just say "Bob woke up one day and he was in a video game world." Or "Once upon a time, Eric was a level 8 ice crusher." He gives you a plot, a reasonable explanation for why things are happening and stakes to worry about. Really great writing and a pleasure to read.

The plot was solid and makes me wish (slightly) that this series had enough traction for him to come back to it instead of DCC. The characters were fleshed out and surprisingly deep. They felt like real people. And the setting, while fairly standard sword & sorcery sort of stuff, was well described.

My only real problem was the narration. Parsneau does a great job but the book being written from a male character's perspective in the first person with a female narrator threw me off a bit. Without going into spoilers I feel a female narrator waivered between confusing and offensive for this protagonist.

I would recommend this book.

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2 people found this helpful

Entertaining

Good story with twists and turns, this made my day and shows promise going forward.

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1 person found this helpful

Really makes you think! (and laugh)

The good thing about this genre is all the new audiobooks coming out in it!

I did get a little behind in my reviews, but here are some thoughts on this as audio.

The main characters are really nicely done. We're thrown into the deep end of this story and world without getting to know them before, but during and in the game. I loved this more so than most might because some stories really do slow up the drama and tension of their world with the long intros with little conflict. Very nicely done here.

The fact that there was trans gender, and different sex's playing different characters was so refreshing and expertly handled by the writer and narrator. It really makes you think about not only the world inside their story but in our own and how people handle things in the wrong ways. (I've seen some of the reviews put up) but this really didn't deter from the story and enhanced it in a way that a lot of people can relate to and of course enjoy.

There's no rest up for us or the MC's as they go on this journey, and the narrator kept a wonderful pace throughout. I really loved her choices with each person, from the Mc's to the NPC's which each spoke just as if they were real people.

There really is a lot of twists and turns in here, some I did think were coming, but others were a total shock! It keeps you guessing and thinking which is what all the best books do.

Highly recommended and although this was a great book on its own although my only real jibe is the length, (cause I wanted more) I do think there's another on the cards, which I can't wait for!

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6 people found this helpful

Interesting premise and strong start to series

While many books in this genre have the main characters trapped in the game world, this one adds an extra layer to that by also having them locked into a monotonous existence as highly-scripted npcs until something happens to wake them up from that.

Besides an interesting and diverse range of characters, the underlying mystery over why these people are stuck in the game and the potential impact on their real world leads to an interesting overall story that draws in the listener and maintains a strong pace throughout.

The narrator helps greatly with drawing in the listener too, providing an extensive range of voices for the characters that helps to bring them to life very effectively.

Overall, an entertaining book in its own right that also provides a strong foundation to this series and I will be interested to see how it progresses.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

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1 person found this helpful

Amazing twist to the genre

I recieved a review copy of this book. The story is a great balance between the gameplay mechanics and an underlying mystery that the players must unravel. You follow the characters as they struggle against the odds to uncover the secrets of both the game, and the world outside.

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1 person found this helpful

don't waste your time

poor voice acting. the story's all over the place with tone and pacing plus somehow goes into body dysmorphia. if I could give 0 stars I would

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