The Land was my first foray into LitRPG, and I have discovered something that I absolutely love! I think listening to the story in audio format made the experience even better. As we walk through the adventure with Richter - we experience his "dings" as he levels, as well as a few other sound effects that are NOT part of the general narration - just a few select areas that PC or console games will recognize and smile. However, if you are not a gamer of some sort, then many of the fun aspects of this book may not be as enjoyable to you.

I couldn't pinpoint any one specific game all the elements pulled from, but there were bits and pieces from several I have played over the years - from console, to PC, to tabletop. The story follows Richter - a human Chaos Seed - into a realm where the game has become real. From here we dive into an amazing fantasy story that could stand on its own (although quite a bit shorter) without the gaming references. We meet a fun variety of creatures, both friendly and otherwise, all with some very unique personalities and goals. The world itself is built slowly as Richter discovers it, but there are a few hints that it is incredibly vast and many adventures could be found.

Founding tells the story of the beginning of Richter's journey as he discovers The Land and its people. I feel like this would have been the equivalent of the first book in a campaign box set, and it wraps up rather nicely at the end with many strings closed, but leaves a few hanging out there to be pulled apart in the next book - which I am definitely getting as soon as my Audible credits are here.