Games were made to be broken.
Gary Burns has been kidnapped, thrown in a dungeon, and tortured for information. Worst of all, he’s been separated from his friends, so no one even knows where to look for him. Cut off from his support network, Gary uses the only tools at his disposal: a silver tongue and an insider’s knowledge of the game world that’s second to none.
With a makeshift party of former foes, Gary must not only escape his captor but plan for payback. Because nothing passes the time in a dank, lightless prison cell like plotting revenge. And when your adversary is a centuries-old lich with the might of an army at his disposal, death is a starting point, not a victory.
My Opinion: 234 pages, $4.99, Not Available on Kindle Unlimited
The story starts off following up the cliff hanger from book 1, with the main character (MC) kidnapped and imprisoned by someone seeking information about the nature of this game world. The MC, being a weak squishy bard, has to really think (and charisma check) his way out of the problem. It gets kind of meta but it’s a very smart story. The dialogue, and banter, and humor improves since someone else gets to be from our world too.
Game mechanic-wise, it’s the same as book 1. Standard stats, XP, levels, etc. No health or mana info. Nice weighty feeling dice rolls and formulas showing how the math works out with the rolls.
Overall, good stuff. I like book 2 more than book 1 and I think adding a 2nd character from our world who is aware of the game stuff was a great choice.
Score: 7.5 out of 10