meh.

The initial hook was good, but eveything else is lacking.

It's poorly translated, and I find the author repeating himself too much for my taste.

Also, the protagonist is all over the place. he's supposed to be a 40 year old parent who's been fighting for his daughter's life, but runs around in the game world like he doesnt know how to function. Then the next moment he's a paranoid genius who see's through everyone's lies. The world doesnt feel consistent.

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Started well and ended… meh?

I enjoy most of these game lit books. Especially the ones that are a little different. Where the main character is not just an OP mage or warrior. Most of what I seem to listen to is translated from Russian.

This book started with some promise. Lots of talking through things but I’m ok with that. Main character is learning things. Puts in the work. Has a special bonus to explain why our main character is able to progress faster than others.

But the short term issue is resolved fairly early so there’s 3/4 of the book to tackle the next goal? Or maybe we are aiming for some of the other milestones required to reach that main goal. No…. The main character just gets handed massive increases to reach skill goals in the span of 5 minutes. Oh and while we are at it. Here’s 5 more extra special handouts that we didn’t even know were game mechanics. I assume they are special somehow but there is no indication that they actually are of any importance. Oh, the main skill of our character?. Nope, not allowed to use that for the 2nd half the book.

And then the book ends. In the middle of nothing special. There has not just been some goal achieved or milestone reached. And no new issue has presented. We’re just moving on to the next thing.

I have no motivation to read the next book. I can only assume he will continue to walk around aimlessly. Getting free handouts and blaming his benefactor for ruining his life.

I didn’t hate it. It wasn’t a bad book. It’s just not a good book.

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Is this book right for you?

I read the whole series as an audiobook.
Performance a 4.5/5.
Speed - Slow but informative. You are always aware of what the protagonist is thinking.
Family Friendliness - This title gets a 4.5/5. If you let your kids watch movies with mild swearing and death, this is no different.
Protagonist-A man of integrity. Introvert. family man. An intellect. Married.
Swearing? Yes, but no F-bombs and it's pretty infrequent.
Gore? A little bit. Also very infrequent.
Love - Nothing inappropriate at all. Very happily married and faithful.

I thoroughly loved this book series. The game mechanics are great. Mirror Wolrd is awesome. I absolutely love the main character (helps that I'm a dad). I often find lots of description boring, but in the audiobook, you hear the emotional reaction to everything that gets described, or there is some sort of tactical relevance, so it always held my attention

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Uncaptivating LitRPG

Alexey Osadchuk introduces protagonist 'Oleg Ivanenko' - a professional interpreter IRL - who enters a Virtual World as a member of a rare/discontinued race to toil as a digger/miner (rather than a sexy "adventurer") in order to raise Real-Life funds to pay the medical costs for his dying daughter. The world is imaginative, the skill/stat/gear bonuses are well-conceived, and the writing (translated from Ukrainian) is serviceable. Unfortunately, almost nothing happens. Readers/listeners are treated to not much more than autistic-level micromanaging ("How can I point-buy & equip to maximize my daily work productivity?") and profession-based character progression. Oleg leverages his inordinately rapid advancement into becoming a sought-after political/corporate tool. *yawn* The result is frankly pretty boring.
I'm all in for hyperrealistic game mechanics and metagame plotting.. but these stories need at least *some* encounters/conflict.

As to presentation: The sound engineers at Tantor Audio Inc. provide creditable technical support, but reader Kyle McCarley is an "average" audiobook performer at best. McCarley's diction & pacing are professional and his tone is spot-on.. but his timbre & cadence sounds like that of a 14-year-old boy and his often cartoonish character interpretations mar an otherwise meritorious narration.

Altogether, 'Project Daily Grind' is worth a pedestrian 4.5 stars out of 10. If you can get it as a 'Plus' offering, it's not a crazy option to have droning on in the background while doing something else, I guess.. but there are faaaaar better titles available if Audible asks for a Credit.
Regardless, this first book in the 'Mirror World' series isn't good enough to convince me to continue.

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