After Bogart’s clan is decimated by a group of adventurers, he does what any reasonable goblin would do – follows them, waiting to loot their bodies after they’re slaughtered by the evil that lurks in the caves. But a few last-second decisions later, and he finds himself a tentative ally of this group, even going so far as to become a member of their adventuring guild. But as they set out on their next job, they have no idea that they’re entering into a scheme that may put the very world at risk.
While this was classified as LitRPG, the authors chose to stay away from including game mechanics (e.g., stats, etc.) into this read, rather simply mentioning some standard RPG concepts, monsters, etc. I quite liked this approach as it kept this read feeling like a traditional fantasy, while incorporating some of the more fun aspects of RPGs. There were even a few fun Easter Eggs in this read (including one reference to LOTR). The worldbuilding was excellently done. Details were incorporated throughout the narrative and dialogue in a way that enriched the world and gave us meaningful details. There was no info-dumping, and though there were places where I wanted more exploration of the world, this was simply because I found it so engaging and interesting.
This is a crass read, but that makes sense as the protagonist is a goblin. I honestly quite like having non-human protagonists, and the authors of this work did a great job at writing a goblin protagonist. Part of what made this so fun was the change in standard morals and values, and how that affected the protagonist’s actions/thoughts/motivations. The exploration of alignments and his struggle with “good” versus “evil” was a fun inclusion. The secondary characters were just as well written, feeling complex and alive, which added much to my enjoyment of the book. I loved watching Bogart learn some basic economics and business from a gnome, and it was small interactions like these that made these characters spring to life.
I’ll definitely read the next book in this series, and I hope they keep the same narrator for the next audiobook – he did an amazing job with the wide cast of characters. If you enjoy fantasy, DnD, and anti-heroes, you’ll like this one. Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.