Apparently I've been enjoying "LitRPG" without knowing what it is for quite a while now. If you don't know the genre, I recommend you either google it, or read the next sentence. LitRPG is a form of portal fantasy, in which the protagonist is dropped into a game world and the game mechanics make up a large part of the plot. Main characters can be in a VR system, be running around a holodeck or at the most extreme end of the spectrum undergo brain uploading when they die. Like poor Tad Lonnerman here.
After a particularly squishy car accident, Tad finds himself in "Haven", the newest and best videogame for dead people. He's given the usual player creation system, and makes himself into a rogue. And then heads off to grind his way to glory.
Or at least that's what the game developers are hoping.
Actually, he wanders off the planned plot almost immediately, by running into the Devil and learning a few things he wasn't supposed to. Which is where this book goes rather sideways from where similar ones I've read have. There's a breaking down of the standard structure, and a more substantial conflict against the game itself than is usually seen.
The game mechanics feature heavily, which can get a bit repetitive at times. You'll find yourself skimming some of those bits. Still, they're not overdone to the point of distracting from the story. There's an exciting plot in here, with the two levels (in-game and metagame plots) complementing each other nicely. And there is a very neat chapter titling system, with each chapter named after a game, with a thematic link to the contents of that chapter. It's a really fun trick, that I don't think I've seen anywhere else before.
Characters are also fun, and there's a believable development arc, with no major slip-ups into stereotype. Tad is pleasantly non-smartassy, and the ensemble, being dead, have reasonable quirks. Though in places it does feel a little too easy, in that Tad doesn't have many really significant setbacks. Most problems are overcome relatively easily.
There is also a slight problem in that the fights can run a little long, and are a bit too mechanical at points (subjective - this is quite a bit of the appeal to some), but there's enough pushing the rules and exploration of the game's skill tree that it doesn't drag too badly.
It's nice to finally have a name for something I've been enjoying a fair bit of recently, and I'm bound to be hunting down more of them (both this series in the future and others). That's what I get for playing just a bit too much Baldur's Gate as a kid.
One for fans of skill trees.
Recommended.
Tagged: Book GameLit Fantasy world Novel Print