This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with the first in another LitRPG series! It’s Patch 17, Book 01 of the Realm of Arkon series, by G. Akella!

Plot Synopsis: A new “update” arrives to the ultra-popular online game, Realm of Arkon. With Patch 17, the level of immersion experienced by players in their gaming capsules has made virtual reality indistinguishable from the real world. But every gamer’s dream becomes a nightmare for Roman Kozhevnikov after he gets confined to Arkon against his will. And not just to Arkon, but to an unreleased high level zone–Demon Grounds. Playing, or rather living as his character Krian, it’s not just about survival for Roman. He longs to exact revenge for his banishment to the virtual world where the sensation of pain has reached one hundred percent…

Plot: The plot is pretty interesting, sure it’s got some stereotypes, but it was interesting as hell anyways. Plus it was fun to read a translation from a Russian author who actually understood American geography (I’m looking at you Play to Live series). Patch 17 starts in medias res, which is not an easy thing to pull off, but the author does pretty well with it. I also loved the various shout outs to other series like Legendary Moonlight Sculptor.

Characters: Roman is a pretty awesome lead character and his interactions with the world he finds himself stuck in is very interesting. The rest of the cast is great, but I really enjoyed the side story with Max and his friend who seems to be missing a straw hat…

Overall: If you love LitRPG or just gaming in general, you’ll love Patch 17!

For those who like: LitRPG, MMOs, Gaming, Action, Adventure, Drama, Excellent Plot, Great Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.