“They were a long way from Kansas”

Great story and great take on the LitRPG book. Loved it from start to finish and found myself perched on my seat during the big fight scene!
I found Dave a little annoying at times as he’s a bit too self centred, but it fits well with the story.
Great narration with great voices, pacing and tension!
Can’t wait for another book to come out!
This is my honest opinion of a free review copy.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Unexpectedly good

Disclaimer: I have received the book for free. I was also a lazy slob and kept pushing it back on my list.

I have to say, that I have really enjoyed the progression and the story. Some people have wrote that they have found the family element tedious, but I have to say that I have enjoyed it. It takes time to start caring with the characters, but it slowly gets there.

The narration is solid and I like the tone and ranges of the performance. The "evil" characters are sound a bit too insidious at times to a Disney level, but all on all it is entertaining.

I will definitely go for the next book.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Different dynamics work well to start this series

While the basic premise of somebody being taken against their will to a game or game-like world is a common one in this genre, the change to include a family of various ages gives this element an interesting and unique twist on this basic idea. This change allows the author to give a wider range of perspectives on the situation, ranging from the generally enthusiastic reaction of the father through varying degrees of apprehension of the non-gamer members of the family. Another bonus to this approach is that it also allows the author to look at a number of classes and powers without the main character being overpowered by being able to do too much themselves which is a common problem in the genre.

I initially found some of the characters in the family to be unnecessarily unsympathetic to start with, it seemed like the author had gone out of their way to portray them as caricatures such as the moody teen girl and the bossy wife, but after this indifferent start things did improve significantly once they were on the new world and were better coming to terms with their new reality and their new powers.

The performance of the narrator was a good one with a distinctive range of tones that helped to enhance the enjoyment of the book, bringing to life both the human and monster characters very well.

Overall, this book delivered an entertaining listen while also setting up a number of interesting threads for subsequent books in the series.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

An interesting twist

I received a review copy of this book. The story and narration is excellent, with the perspective of the story moving between the various family members as they adjust to their new life.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Awesome book

Good story, plenty of action. A diverse group of characters. Looking forward to the next book

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Pretty good.

Firstly the narration is excellent, which is especially important in this genre where there are so many average titles needing someone to help breathe some life into them.

I'll say this book isn't one of the average however, it's certainly better than that.

The only downsides I have really are first there really isn't any connection with the main characters. The Father's a bit of a prat, the eldest daughter is unlikable and the rest are just meh. The second issue are the forks in the story; there seems to be two main threads concurrently running, the first thread with our main characters and the second with a completely different group of people. I'm struggling a little with the second thread to hold my attention although I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.

All in all it's been a positive experience so I'll persevere with the series.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

unique take on the standard litrpgs

This book is a gem. It took a little while for me to get into but I absolutely love this book. The concept of transporting a family rather than an individual is unique and provides extra challenges. I like the world building, mechanics and the families cohesion. Through thick or thin they will survive together!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

excellent book. cannot wait for the next.

It is rare to find a good clean litrpg with such a great story line with such great character development. Cannot wait for the next book

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Very enjoyable

Really enjoyed listening to this book, just wanted to continue listening whenever possible ! Being it a full family sent into this world gave it a different spin to what I have listened to before. Did struggle at times with it jumping from one part of the world to another but not enough to not want to continue on ever !

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Good in parts, but somewhat annoying characters.

If this is the first book the author has done, then it should be given credit to a degree. Overall it is not a bad read, but I would put in very much in the average range.

For me the problems started with Dave - the father/husband - who is supposed to be a avid MMORPG gamer who does everything including raiding, but as someone that ran a raid guild I would say Dave would be the guy that joins your raid when you can't find someone else in your guild that night, due to the fact Dave will be the guy that runs right when he should run left or doesn't see he is standing in AOE and will stay there till he dies.

In the book he bangs on constantly about being all about protecting he family while doing everything that would be opposite to that end. He doesn't keep an eye on his kids. Back to back occasions near start where they let them wonder right into trouble. He goes off trying to grind like he is playing a game and leaves his family alone in what is unsecured and unknown territory. Often out of sight and hearing distance. Time and time again this goes wrong and they learn nothing. The definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting a different outcome.

There is a moment later in book where he finds a dungeon and what he does there would have had me throw the book across the room in contempt at the author for expecting me to believe ANYONE would do what he does there.

The only way I could buy Dave doing half what he does in this book is if there were respawns, but with death the outcome for losing one fight I just don't buy someone constantly running alone into danger when he has a balanced group with his family. Raising the strength of all with complimenting skills is wise, he is just dumb. I see what he did as being like a lawyer going to the jungle on earth and asking for a spear before running off into the jungle to hunt big cats over and over again. Not believable where one mistake is your death.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful