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steven_v's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was my first LitRPG novel, and so my review is based on very little experience with the genre. That having been said, I enjoyed the premise. The worldbuilding was good but not very original. "Human discrimination against nonhumans" is a rather tired trope in fantasy RPGs these days (though maybe it wasn't quite so bad when this book was published 7 years ago), and all the fantasy creatures are exactly as expected -- goblins, ghouls, rogues' guilds, elves, dwarves, all behave as they do in every generic RPG. I'd have preferred something more original or surprising, but maybe the audience of this genre would not like that. I did enjoy the "game" aspect of the novel far more than I expected. Dr. Kong has created an interesting RPG system of skills, abilities, and spells, along with an interesting character progression system, and I found myself looking forward to the italic text and tables showing the character's growth. I would not have expected to even like this part of the book before I started it, but it quickly became my favorite element to the story.
I'd have given this novel another star for originality, but I felt like the writing was rather pedestrian. Also, the writing is frequently awkward, and could have used another editing pass for polish. Let me give an example here: Looking to Sion, the sprite was dodging his opponent's swings. The narrator (Richter) is also male, so this sentence is confusing -- is Sion dodging the swings of his own opponent, or of Richter's? Additionally, starting a sentence with infinite-verb phrases ("Looking to Sion..."), as in this case, can be very awkward. This kind of thing could have easily been cleaned up with a stronger editing pass (I have no idea if Dr. Kong used an editor or not, but if he did, I recommend finding another one!).
I'd have given this novel another star for originality, but I felt like the writing was rather pedestrian. Also, the writing is frequently awkward, and could have used another editing pass for polish. Let me give an example here: Looking to Sion, the sprite was dodging his opponent's swings. The narrator (Richter) is also male, so this sentence is confusing -- is Sion dodging the swings of his own opponent, or of Richter's? Additionally, starting a sentence with infinite-verb phrases ("Looking to Sion..."), as in this case, can be very awkward. This kind of thing could have easily been cleaned up with a stronger editing pass (I have no idea if Dr. Kong used an editor or not, but if he did, I recommend finding another one!).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Murder
lostinthesound's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Xenophobia
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