Easy read (listen) entertaining if your not looking for something too deep

The story picks up right away and is great for game lovers. The story and the characters don’t really develop much throughout but the plot moves enough that jt doesn’t get stale . I wouldn’t recommend for non gamers as most of the appeal was the fun transfers from the book to an rpg . It was great for some time killing

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Not a bad star

Very interesting concept. Going to reserve judgment u til book two. Seems to be skipping a bit fast through progression.

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Interesting world environment

First I want to say I didn't really like the narrators voice, but over time I got used to it. It was competent. The author takes an interesting way to get the people into the gaming world, kidnapped by a supernatural being. I found this more interesting than the typical "stuck in a vr machine that delivers pain and can actually kill you". This made the danger more congruous. The world was interesting as were the various world mechanics. The story moves along quite well. I bought the second book right after I finished the first and at the time of this writing, I am just about to start it. I assume it will explore the characters more and develop more plot since the world has been introduced.

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2 people found this helpful

very good book with some awkward moments

Anybody who plays RPGs or deep dives video games will enjoy this book. That said, there are some moments (mostly during character interactions) that seem as though they were written by a high school student, or an adult who never really matured. The main character's conversations and observations with/of his female interest are downright cringeworthy.

All in all I had a lot of fun with the book though. Ready Player One vibes but way less forced pop culture references. Like Ernest Cline though, the author is pretty obviously not great with social interaction.

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Time in the story felt off

When listening it was as if the events of the rook took way longer then it said it did. When he was power levelling it was as if days had pass but it had only been a single day. I would have liked if we got too see some of the humans point of view. Even some of the monsters.

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bacon and meh?

It is an interesting take on the reborn story, but the main character falls a little flat for me.

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1 person found this helpful

An interesting large group dynamic!

This one is different because it involves a large group of gamers kidnapped for the machinations of demon goddess Lilith. It’s an interesting setup and gives a lot of isakied characters many of whom do not react well (EG realistically) to being in A REAL RPG setting where death is most likely final all for the amusement of Lilith.

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*sigh* If only I were a geeky 13-year-old

...but I'm not. I'm a 50-year-old Fantasy/SciFi afficianado, RPG gamer, and occasional reader of GameLit. This book is clearly designed to entertain misfit teenagers that love losing themselves in scenarios where they can kill with impunity, display fantasized magical powers, indulge their navelgazing punctilious desire to control every aspect of their life, and engage in some kind of social congress with the opposite sex.
(Actually.. it's kinda sad when you think about it..)

Fortunately, Apollos Thorne is good at it. He understands his audience and provides straight-up MMORPG action: explore dungeons, kill sh*t, learn to exploit skills, level-up. The book is often strikingly sophomoric, but there are admirably very few complicated overlying quests/goals, no tedious basebuilding/runecrafting, and no inordinate focus on Character Sheets and Inventory Screens. The book is satisfyingly straightforward.

The reading by Graham Halstead contributes to my favorable impression of this audiobook. His diction/tone/timbre/cadence fit the text nicely and his voice-acting is excellent (few affected accents and easily-distinguishable characters). Less fortunately, the book is best consumed at 1.15X speed (Halstead's rate of reading is a little slow). Altogether, Podium Audio cast the project well.

I would definitely appreciate this offering more if I fit into the target demographic.. but I still rate 'Level Up or Die!' 7 stars out of 10. It was offered for Free as part of the 'Plus' initiative and I'm happy I gave it a try. I won't be continuing with the 'Underworld' series, but you justifiably could do so if you become enamored with this uncomplicated LitRPG scenario.

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2 people found this helpful

a great story for any fan of isekai or rpgs

well written with an indepth magic and leveling system. as well as a wide variety of characters and a love hate relationship with the mistress. looking forward to book 2

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1 person found this helpful

What a pleasant surprise

This is the best and most creative implementation of video game stats meets real life that I have read. If you enjoy video games, leveling up, or a light hearted story that doesn't take itself too seriously, I really recommend this one. I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did and I couldn't put it down. The character progression is awesome and the story is captivating. I seriously loved this book and immediately bought the rest in the series.

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