Jack Kross only wanted to play the game. Now he's fighting for his life.

When a mysterious hacker takes control of Hundred Kingdoms, Jack is trapped inside the fantasy VR world along with millions of other players. But Jack is in a worse predicament. He's cornered in the very tower the terrorists have taken as their base; the only free player left within its walls. Even worse, in the real world, his body lies in a sweltering room with no hope of relief.

Playing the profession-based Scavenger class, and at a low level, Jack's prospects of fighting his way out are next to impossible. Crafting gear, traps and weapons, allying with a deadly dungeon master and an AI he can't fully trust, Jack is in a race against time to save not just himself but the millions of players held hostage.

Battle Spire is a meeting of World of Warcraft and Die Hard, using crunchy LitRPG mechanics with a heavy focus on crafting. Readers can expect to find in depth item and spell descriptions, along with stat tables and profession recipes.

My Opinion: 408 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited

The beginning while not badly written comes across as just another LitRPG story with a wimpy MC with a Sword Art Online premise. I'll be honest, I almost put the novel down when it revealed it was a trapped in the game and die in the game die in real life premise. Still, I’m glad I didn't. It turns into something more original and definitely entertaining.

The game mechanics are solid and consistent and will please lovers of crunchy RPG details.

Overall, it's a fun story with some homages to Die Hard but the story combines a crafting class with a coming of age hero story in a good way.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

Battle Spire: A Crafting LitRPG Book (Hundred Kingdoms 1) https://amzn.to/2W2hyO3