Amber
Book 2 doesn’t disappoint
If book one had me hooked, book two proved this series isn’t a one-hit wonder. The absurdity is still there and Carl still has no fucking pants, which is somehow funnier now that we’re two books deep.
Mongo running around like a terrified little chicken screaming his lungs out is objectively hilarious. Every time he loses it, I’m losing it. He goes from being a weird pet that no one asked for to actually mattering, and his freak-outs carry half the humor in this book.
The middle section is a mess though. Circus clowns, then murdered sex workers, then investigations, then soul batteries or whatever—it’s a lot happening at once and keeping track of what’s actually going on gets stupid. I had to rewind because I genuinely didn’t know which quest mattered anymore.
Book 2 doesn’t disappoint
If book one had me hooked, book two proved this series isn’t a one-hit wonder. The absurdity is still there and Carl still has no fucking pants, which is somehow funnier now that we’re two books deep.
Mongo running around like a terrified little chicken screaming his lungs out is objectively hilarious. Every time he loses it, I’m losing it. He goes from being a weird pet that no one asked for to actually mattering, and his freak-outs carry half the humor in this book.
The middle section is a mess though. Circus clowns, then murdered sex workers, then investigations, then soul batteries or whatever—it’s a lot happening at once and keeping track of what’s actually going on gets stupid. I had to rewind because I genuinely didn’t know which quest mattered anymore.
Added to listCurrently Ghostingwith 13 books.
So I went in assuming LitRPG was gonna be one of those things where I have to pretend to care about loot drops and character stats while my brain slowly melts into the carpet. Joke's on me because I just powered through this entire thing and at no point did I want to throw my phone across the room.
Jeff Hays narrates Carl exactly like Patrick Warburton having an existential crisis and it's chef's kiss. It took me exactly forty five seconds to figure out who the narrator reminded me of, and when I did I was delighted. Donut is unhinged in the best possible way—she's literally insane and also your emotional anchor which should not work but somehow does.
The achievement notifications? Genuinely funny. Not "I'm being charitable" funny. Actual laugh-out-loud at 2am to the point I scared my dog from a deep sleep funny.
Some books use profanity like adjectives and it feels way too much. This book has profanity in all the right places. To the point that I'm like "If he wasn't cursing up one side and down another right here I would seriously be side eyeing the crap out of him"
Here's the part that caught me off guard though: there's actually something going on underneath all the smashing and looting and boss battles. (Which BTW are hilariously named! The Juicer being a gym bro? OMG So on point!) Questions you want answers to. Mysteries that don't feel like filler. The world's building itself sideways while Carl's just trying to survive (and find himself some goddamned pants!) and you're sitting there going "wait what the hell is actually happening" right there with him.
Not convinced the whole LitRPG thing is my genre long-term. But this book absolutely earned its spot and I'm already hunting down book two.
So I went in assuming LitRPG was gonna be one of those things where I have to pretend to care about loot drops and character stats while my brain slowly melts into the carpet. Joke's on me because I just powered through this entire thing and at no point did I want to throw my phone across the room.
Jeff Hays narrates Carl exactly like Patrick Warburton having an existential crisis and it's chef's kiss. It took me exactly forty five seconds to figure out who the narrator reminded me of, and when I did I was delighted. Donut is unhinged in the best possible way—she's literally insane and also your emotional anchor which should not work but somehow does.
The achievement notifications? Genuinely funny. Not "I'm being charitable" funny. Actual laugh-out-loud at 2am to the point I scared my dog from a deep sleep funny.
Some books use profanity like adjectives and it feels way too much. This book has profanity in all the right places. To the point that I'm like "If he wasn't cursing up one side and down another right here I would seriously be side eyeing the crap out of him"
Here's the part that caught me off guard though: there's actually something going on underneath all the smashing and looting and boss battles. (Which BTW are hilariously named! The Juicer being a gym bro? OMG So on point!) Questions you want answers to. Mysteries that don't feel like filler. The world's building itself sideways while Carl's just trying to survive (and find himself some goddamned pants!) and you're sitting there going "wait what the hell is actually happening" right there with him.
Not convinced the whole LitRPG thing is my genre long-term. But this book absolutely earned its spot and I'm already hunting down book two.
