Virtual worlds are places of boundless freedom. Anyone can become an elven mage or an invisible rogue, join a clan and go on raids, fight, develop their characters and most importantly, escape from the daily grind.
However, a game is only a game if you can quit. This is something I learned the hard way. I just wanted to let off some steam in virtual reality and ended up getting murdered and imprisoned in the body of one of the undead—slow, clumsy and cursed to die at the hand of other players over and over again.
The only way out of this awful predicament was to find the legendary Scroll of Rebirth, but the helpless plague-ridden corpse would need to be turned into a real killing machine. If only people knew what it was like to level up a dead rogue...
My Opinion: 275 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
*Full disclosure: I received a advanced copy for review. I purchased the novel when it became available.*
This is a trapped in the game LitRPG story. The introduction to the main character (MC)and the way he gets into the game are brief and he’s there by the 3% mark. From there it’s actually an interesting exploration of what it’s like to be an undead monster in the game. The MC can’t talk to players due to a low intelligence score, can’t go outside during the day, and is constantly being killed by players.
Unfortunately, this unique aspect of the story is dulled as the MC eventually starts to improve his character and finally talks to other players. From there on, it gets to be a more and more standard slice of life MMO playing story. The MC’s goal to get out of the game is always there but he never really makes any progress towards it. There are still some interesting questlines that the MC follows but as he progresses, he feels more like the other normal players. There are still aspects of his undead nature that are problematic, but it stops being about him a monster class and treats it as another player faction.
What is interesting about the story is how the MC uses his undead traits, which expand and are leveled like a new class, to overcome the odds and accomplish his goals. There’s good detail about skills, racial abilities, class abilities, game mechanics, items, and quests.
Overall, this ends up feeling more slice of life story since there’s no real resolution of any big goals presented. But that doesn’t mean the story isn’t interesting. The action is good, game mechanic stuff is detailed, it was interesting to see how the MC built his character, and there are several good story arcs. The antagonist in the story is a decent foil. I particularly like the late storyline companion that adds a balancing weakness and vulnerability to the character. It has the potential to develop into a touching relationship. But again, most of the story is action, adventure, and questing.
Score: 7.1 out of 10