Arktania is a virtual game with a steampunk style. It's a place where magic spells, enchanted artifacts, steam-powered machines, firearms and mechanical golems are a part of everyday life.
Gamer Andrew Falk begins his journey in a small village on the border of Orcish territory. The locals are the keepers of many secrets, but their behavior is too realistic for characters in a game; so realistic, in fact, that Andrew starts to treat them as if they were real people. Maybe because of the way he plays, or maybe just thanks to good luck, he becomes one of a mysterious class of people known as "sliders,” allowing him to control electricity and earn the favor of Elenia, the goddess of fate.
But as he advances through levels, the pain threshold in his character settings gradually begins to drop, making the game increasingly more dangerous. Andrew is facing a hard choice: either to keep on playing, risking eventual death by pain shock, or to abandon his gamer pod altogether. Still, his digital adventures just won’t let him go, immersing him ever deeper into VR…
My Opinion: 465 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
*Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
This is a Russian Translated novel and tonally it reminds me of the 1st book in Way of the Shaman. It's an uncomplex slice of life adventure with a guy who just got his top of the line VR rig and plays the best VR game around. You follow his adventures as he goes to his starter town, gets hints about his characters randomly generated background, fights monsters, does quests, and defends the town from a player invasion from a rival MMO faction. There are hints about some creepy real world implications for his ‘broken’ trait and the end definitely does that Russian LitRPG twists that keeps you guessing about plot changes. But mostly it’s just a fun adventure in this MMO world with the main character. It was an easy read that I was able to knock out in a couple of enjoyable sittings.
Score: 7.7 out of 10