Maple is a beast and her victories over the secret boss on the fifth floor and several tough players prove it. Still, she’s going to need more than strength in the next area that opens up because it’s a house of horrors filled to the brim with scary critters that absolutely terrify Sally. Looking for a way to repay her partner’s kindness, Maple starts exploring this haunted stratum, but things won't be going as planned...
It's just Maple being Maple... and not even a whole lot of that. Sixth Stratum is introduced and it's horror vibe is mentioned and yeah... so what. Okay, so Sally doesn't do well with it and has to wait this one out on the 5th.... Maple's playing on the stratum is so uninteresting that brushing her teeth would be more exciting.
The next event starts and she and Sally want to play together since they really couldn't on the sixth and while the bosses don't fall over just from seeing Maple and Sally -- I never once felt any tension.
Maybe that's it -- for a series about an RPG the play has become so milquetoast that is really isn't very interesting. It used to be fun to see how Maple subverted expectations, but this book didn't really add a lot to that.
The seventh level of NWO opens up and Sally is scared of it. I honestly thought we were going to lose her for the whole book, but she turns up again in the final chapters to duo with Maple through a dungeon... And that's where this one loses a star because it ends in the middle of that dungeon with plenty of levels to go. I hate it when book series do that.
More Maple craziness. More general fun. The main problem this series now has is that it's pretty much falling into a rut. If something doesn't shake it up, it's going to get boring pretty soon. I guess I'll keep going a little longer, if only to finish what they started.
Catching up on the English releases before I start season 2.
A lot of fun this volume. The newly opened ghost level added a touch of zany the last few were missing. The increased Maple and Sally interaction was a plus which thankfully looks to continue into the next.
J'ai l'impression qu'il ne s'est rien passé dans ce volume par rapport au volume précédent. Je suis tellement déçue parce que j'adorais la série mais elle tourne vraiment trop en rond ...
Maple and her guild start exploring the next floor, one whose theme does not sit well with Sally. As a result Maple has to work on her own, which is frustrating for her, and at times entertaining for us. The game developers have learned some tricks to at least make her work for her victories.
The story is much like the previous volumes: light-hearted story about cute girl doing cute things. It is very much a slice-of-life story with no overarching plot which I don't mind, but is not for everybody. The monsters and events are different enough from previous volumes to keep things entertaining for me.
Personally I was not a fan of Sally's reaction to horror, felt it bit over the top especially if it is just monsters. The area effect in which you cannot logout might be good for the story, it is a bit too much IMO even for a story like this. No legal department would ever allow this to be included in a game, Sally's panic is a good example of why (and that is not even thinking about emergencies out of the game whether personal, to people around you or the environment itself). The volume does end in the middle of a big event, although at least not in the middle of a fight, so as far as cliff hangers go, not too bad.
All in all, a good read and looking forward to the next volume.
Maple spends most of the book exploring the 6th floor by herself since Sally is afraid of ghosts. As usual, Maple gets into interesting situations and comes out with new skills.
The later quarter of the book has Sally and Maple working together in the 7th event.
I do enjoy reading this fun light hearted light novel with my child.