Ritualist

5 stars.

Ritualist, narrated by Vikas Adam, deserves a solid rating of +10 stars, especially for his exceptional narration on Audible audiobook. This book marks my entry into the LitRPG genre, an acronym for Literary Role-Playing Game.

In essence, LitRPG involves characters entering a virtual game world and playing out the adventures described in the book. Ritualist follows the story of Joe, a 24-year-old army veteran who finds himself paralyzed and divorced by his wife due to his condition. When he is offered a chance to walk and run again, albeit in a virtual game, he seizes the opportunity.

The game he enters is a MMORPG, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Players begin at a basic level and must complete quests to enhance their skills and levels. The game world crafted by the author is truly remarkable, featuring diverse characters such as humans, wolfmen, wolf shamans, mages, and deities reminiscent of ancient times. Players can even choose a deity and become their disciple. Joe selects Tatum, a god of unknown knowledge, despite the society viewing him as evil due to his physical limitations. Starting below the basic level, Joe, with the stamina of a child, must masquerade as a cleric (while he is, in fact, a ritualist) and complete quests to improve his abilities.

Throughout his journey, Joe befriends the Guards of Humans, heals them, and forms alliances. He eventually joins a guild and embarks on missions to defeat enemies like wolfmen and rabbits (yes, even evil rabbits). The guild members, including the leader A10, guild officer Tiona, tank Dillan, an archer, and a low-quality VR player named 'Guess,' all bring their unique qualities to the story. Joe's ultimate objective is to conquer the game, although the book doesn't reach that conclusion yet. Nevertheless, the book's ending is nothing short of epic.

Vikas Adam's narration truly elevates the story to new heights. His ability to modulate each character's voice, especially Tiona's, is simply amazing. I eagerly anticipate diving into the next book and exploring other works narrated by Vikas Adam.