I’ve watched plenty of RPG shows and movies and listening to D&D (among other games) podcasts, but this was my first “litrpg.” I did this as an audio book and listening to the reader read off a stat sheet got a little repetitive. Otherwise it was a fun adventure and I’ll probably listen to the second one.

A book club read. Good but bleak. I’m not super familiar with the Black Hammer universe but like Jeff Lemire as an author.

I can’t explain exactly why this felt like a real page turner to me, as it’s primarily focused on her exile and lore I was already familiar with, but somehow I couldn’t put it down. I’m not entirely satisfied with the conclusion but it’s also precisely what I would expect from this book. Circe is not always a particularly sympathetic character and her story is not necessarily a strong or inspiring‘s one so much as one about discovery, loneliness, and developing a sense of self.

This one got a lot darker and I’m still trying to figure out how this guy went from zero to totally chill with killing people. I mean all “bad guys” but still, seems like he’d have some several trauma to deal with from these two trips to the game. LitRPG is still new to me and I’m hooked on this series.

This is a fun and gorgeous book - super fast paced. I find the whole dystopian “our phones are turning us into a moral assholes” storylines a bit tedious and boring anymore but this was a fun take. Also the back stories of the characters made it interesting.

This was fun but it tried reeeaally hard. I also disliked the main character pretty thoroughly the first few chapters (she eventually won me over).

I’m a McGuire fan girl and I’ve read nearly every story she’s set out to tell me. In the authors note in the back of this book she acknowledges this novel wasn’t something she had to skill to write until now. Yes. As a reader we get the pleasure of watching talent grow, deepen, and turn great into holy shit that was cool. The characters here are reminiscent of her prior uses of cryptology but exist in a different way, seemingly in an unconnected universe. She uses some of her favorite magical tools from stories past but in a way that’s more dark and grounded. This book isn’t a fast paced adventure, it’s a slow burn. It’s a thinker and gave me some strange, strange dreams.

Though, admittedly, in their San Francisco adventures I silently hoped they’d run into October.

This was fun and cheeky but almost too derivative Pratchett. Tried very hard and could’ve been shorter - but I do appreciate its willingness to kill its characters.