The Book of Dungeons - A weak to strong litRPG epic

So far the series is a fun slow burn with an interesting approach to skills/powers in a GameLit setting. The map inclusion helps with visual placing and the world feels very expandable without being overwhelming. Combat could be a little more engaging but overall the story development and internal mystery takes precedent. I look forward to seeing how the MC continues to progress.

This is something new to find on RR, a fully fleshed out story already written with an ending in sight. Jokes aside, the amount of time, effort, and pure love that has been poured into these early chapters is apparent. We enter quickly, with a good hook to keep us interested. A world that seems different than ours but at the same times so similar. A quick note though, while the author has cleaned up the story and it does flow, at times the prologue feels clinical. The transition between scenes can be abrupt and the lack of fleshed out side characters is noticeable. We are introduced to our main character quickly and do receive a dump of his back history in a rather brusque manner that probably adds to the jarring nature of the prologue. Overall, I have rather enjoyed the prologue and will be reading as fast as possible to catch up

Honestly, about the only thing missing from this litrpg story is proper promotion. I know VRMMO is kind of a specific, slightly unpopular subgenre, but this is honestly more isekai than VRMMO when you get right down to it. Slow burn at the start, which I'm fine with, because it means you care more about the stakes when the pace picks up. 

Anyway, as I say in the title, it's both well-written and completed(as in written, not published) I've spent far more time reading fictions that were far worse, and let's face it- if you're reading reviews on this site, so have you. :P

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Review as of Chapter 10
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The story is about a group of players entering a contest to be the last man standing in an MMORPG, so the LitRPG aspects are inherent. The DIFFERENCE however is that the gameplay event will last for **decades**, not just days or months as you might expect for a normal battle royal.

It's a bit slow to start, which echoes our main character's style of play as well. It's not straight into the action and getting skill levels and fighting right away. It's looking like it'll be more a slow grind to great heights, rather than instant OP.

MC is more methodical and planning ahead when he actually gets to start the game. He wants to explore the game mechanics before investing. He's planning to develop a long term strategy instead of short term as everyone else around him seems to pursue.

I'm really enjoying the story so far. It captures the feel of an old school MMO - not surprising considered the author's role in the creation of the original World of Warcraft.

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Original review of only the 1st 3 prologue chapters below
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I'm just getting started reading, but I can already see how the author is trying to capture the feel of a new MMORPG launch with the initial parts of the story - well expected considering his background.

Story - Our MC gets invited to an MMO launch event basically. He will have to compete against other invited players in a world where none of the contestants really know what to expect. There's an air of mystery and intrigue to what characters can expect to happen. 

There was a paragraph that stuck out to me about how online gaming interactions can act as social grease to let you get into social interactions without having to deal with tough IRL questions that have made one's life difficult. I feel like a lot of gamers could relate to such a point, having the need for escapism.

Characters - Our MC is basically the only main character so far. He seems unique and nuanced, stands out with a background different from the other contestants who seem to be better off than him. Kind of expected for us to follow the underdog in some sense.

Style - The story seems pretty well set in style, but only one tiny thing chafed at me. It was the alleged selection process for the contestants. I'd have expected contestants to be either selected by popularity contest (popular streamers / youtubers) or from gaming competitions (PvP tournaments or something similar). It seemed it was more 'send in an application and get interviewed' - which I thought was a bit odd. But perhaps this was needed for the story to make more sense.

Grammar - Impeccable, and easy to read. No complaints.

I plan to update my review as I read more of the story, but currently the story is very very promising. It doesn't hurt that I have a fond spot in my heart for early World of Warcraft, though.

By the standards of this site this story is incredible. The author works hard to fix mistakes and typos he responds to a lot of comments his author notes are funny and informative which I appreciate a lot. Also most importantly the story is good the characters are well written and interesting the pacing could be a little bit better but again this is a minor nitpick. I think that really when you judge this against other stories on the site it's very very good.

If you like dungeon crawler Carl or delve this is another one worth watching.

Tuck in for what promises to be a multi book extravaganza. Always nice to delve into these stories knowing there is a roadmap.

There's an interesting set of mechanics, and more get added as the story progresses through into book 2. Indeed I'm curious to see what systems and plot twists future chapters may bring.

At times the central premise - a battle royale - can seem far away.  but I've enjoyed the world / setting building to date, and find it very well written.

Overall certainly a series I have no hesitation in recommending to others.

I don't write a lot of reviews because while there are many great stories, and while I enjoy many of them it takes a lot for me to justify the admin required to outlay my feelings about other peoples creative outpourings.

Now I'm not usually a fan of this particular genre of story.

It begins as a beta test of a hyper-realistic VRMMORPG and throws the reader into a world that evolves both around the protagonist and the protagonist himself as he lives, loves and develops the continent he and his fellow contestants have been integrated into.

The lore is deeply complex and presented in an experience-as-you-go format where the 'players' are given almost no starting information and have to learn the hard way. And in many case that can be really, really hard.

There are no info-dumps, no cheat sheet lore books and no 'hidden masters' waiting around the corner to make life easier for them. The world unfolds in a realistic manner as "Apache" muddles his way through, learning as much for his mistakes as he does from his success.

Style: *****

Five stars for style. I would love to say that it grabs you from the first chapter and straps you in for the ride of your life but that would be dishonest. While I did enjoy the first few chapters it wasn't until chapter 5 that I was fully committed. The main character to me could have been any other protagonist but once he became fully engaged with the fantasy world he had been birthed into and started along his unique path of development I started finding it difficult to disengage the beautiful train wreck I could see on the horizon and it wasn't until too late that I realised that the way it was write and the style it was written in were the main contributing factors to this. It's written so well that before too lone, you're rooting for Apache even if you're not entirely sure exactly why you are. The unique skill, ability and rank system don't hurt either.

Grammar: *****

Five stars for grammar as well. This is such a well polished work. The author obviously takes a lot of time and effort to make sure that each chapter comes out as polished as possible. There are very few mistakes in both spelling and grammar that I have noticed, and they are promptly dealt with as soon as they are pointed out. Sentence structure is solid, conversations feel natural and there are no burdensome info-dumps and lore-pits to wallow through. Everything has a natural flow to it. It just works.

Character: *****

Another five stars for characters. The ones that we are introduced to all seem like fully fleshed out and unique individuals that have realistic and lifelike personalities, character appropriate (i.e. not forced) interactions, conversations and personal motivations, as well as begin likeable/hateable in equal measure. No one feels like they are bubble wrapped in plot armour (at least not on the protagonists side) and their triumphs over adversity seem believable and worked for. It's enjoyable because the characters are all relatable and realistic, warts and all.

Story: *****

This gets five stars not only because I didn't think that i would be enjoying it as much as I have, but because it is indeed a fantastic story that draws you in and keep you want more and cursing the greyed out "next chapter" button. This is a must read for anyone that is a fan of this particular genre and also for everyone else who isn't. This is definitely a gem you will not regret finding. A pox upon that greyed out "next chapter" button.

In conclusion, if you haven't read it yet then what are you waiting for? Get in there!!!

I dont have much to say except that the book is good, it is written really well and the story is interesting and much much more realistic than almost every other book i've read here, the characters feels alive and all in all i have no complaints

And i really enjoyed the author notes in the end 

But i do have one thing I'd like to say to the author, i dont think that it is a big issue but while the maij character progress and have an emotional development, the people around him feel a bit more static, not to say that they don't feel real, it's just that there is not a lot of development from their side from what i can see, its it feels like after their interaction with the main character they stop progressing and become more like an NPC around him, maybe i just imagine it and maybe it is something that is intended, but just in case i wanted to write it 

In the first 30 or so chapters we get introduced to a setting and system that is very clearly primed for classical RPG shenanigans. There are quests and dungeons, skills and trainers and hostiles in the form of other contestants. The MC gets his nieche reason for being stronger then average and we have an inciting conflict that starts him on his actual story.

Then he (and party) starts building a base.

There is no setup for this, no political situation we know anything about, no real goal other then 'building something important' and the system is clearly not setup for the situation presented. Indeed, the whole thing starts to go downhill from there. The plot becomes obviously guided, plot armor becomes more obvious and all focus is lost from the original contest.

In short, this seems like mashing 2 unrelated ideas together in a way that makes both suffer.

The writing itself is good and the characters are decent, you can definitely spend a day or 2 reading this, but I find it unlikely that anyone will become strongly invested at this point.

There is something fresh about a loner MC that changes his plans as his relationships mature. It is rare and should be highlighted. I am still not totally on board with the setup - a battle Royale should probably not be open ended and have some of the least competitive players ever.

BTW,  if he truly wanted to outlive the opposition he should have played as an elf.