Level: Unknown by David Dalglish

TL;DR: A fantastic intro to LitRPG or fun for a regular readers
Source: NetGalley, thank so much to Orbit!!

Plot: A mysterious Artifact is found by a study station on a far away planet. Nick ends up bound to the artifact that sends him into another world. Is it real? The past? Somewhere else?
Characters: I really liked Nick and the AI he was able to converse with. I wish the side characters had a bit more flesh on them but that may come in future books.
Setting: We don’t get much on the space station but I really enjoyed Yensere, our ‘magical’ realm
Fantasy/LitRPG: The fantasy/litrpg part of this was fascinating, I’d like more details. There are some SF parts as well that I want to get a lot more of.

Thoughts:

LitRPG is a genre that has been slowly growing in the self-published and indie space and quickly. I’ve been waiting to see traditional publishers pick it up and this is one of the first I’ve seen besides DCC. It’s a great one too since I feel like it’s a perfect introduction for the casual and new reader to the genre.

Nick and Simon live on a research space station that has recently unearthed a large mysterious artifact. Nick is the only one that can cause it to react, and it sends his consciousness to another place. He has no idea if it’s the past, future, another planet, or if it’s just fake projection. Within that space he has levels, and he’s considered a Visitor by the system. Unfortunately that makes him a ‘Demon’ to the residents and they go out of their way to kill him. From here he has to try to survive while moving between worlds.

I really liked the setup on this one and I only have two complaints that may be fixed in the next books. The first is that I wish our other characters were expanded on. Frost, Simon, Violette – they needed more. I also wish we had a bit more of what was happening on the space station as it seemed… somewhat dire.

If you are interested in this genre or this title I definitely think it’s worth the read. David Dalglish’s writing is easy and fun to read, and the story is fast and engaging. A big yes from me.