Book Musings - Gaia's Gambit by D L Harrison

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Source : Kindle Unlimited

Date read : January 5, 2019

Rating : 4/5

Reread factor : 3/5

Blurb :

The end of the world had come, and humanity was in danger of extinction, but it would survive. Had survived, as far as Jason knew.

Jason lived the last millennia in a virtual utopia, which was slowly driving him insane. His mind suspended in a computer matrix, an ark of sorts, until they could grow new bodies and rejoin the real world, to rebuild. It would be a long time before the Earth recovered. Only four million out of billions had been saved in such a fashion, he was one of the lucky ones.

At least, he’d been in a utopia until that morning, when he woke up in a new world on a bed of moss in the middle of a forest glade. Alone. No breakfast, no coffee, and no bacon. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he didn’t really have a choice but to move forward, it was either that or starve himself to death over and over. Not really a choice at all. Well, either that or be killed by monsters.

He just wished he knew what the hell Gaia was thinking. Elves, dwarves, evil races, magic, swords, and bows? The A.I. must have lost her mind…

My Musings :

I can't believe that this is going to be my first review for one of the litrpg/gamelit books. I am so sorry, authors. I think I better get back to all the books I have read in this genre and review them when I can! And for everyone else who don't know what I am talking about, let me tell you about one of my favourite genres. I actually came across it a couple of years back and I have been hooked. It's the playing of a game in a book format. I love reading about the characters and the adventures they end up on. I don't have a better way to explain it. I can only say "If you love playing games go ahead give this genre a try and you won't regret it" And that's enough about the genre. I better get on with my musings on this particular book.

I have gone totally off the track. I actually came across this book on KU and when I read the blurb I was interested just because of the post apoc feel to it. In that aspect I was pretty disappointed because it's not even one of the major themes of the book. But it was plotted in such a way that the post apoc setting led deeper into the gamelit/litrpg space. I quite liked Gaia and I hope I get to see more of her in the future. As for Jason, he seemed like a routine guy and the story started off slowly with his introduction and slowly settling into his situation. Then it slightly increased pace with the fight against the goblins. 

I felt that this book read more like a purely fantasy book more than anything else if we discount the character sheets. And it was so slow, explaining everything from scratch and at times, even repetitive. The only places where the adrenaline spiked and the pace picked up were the fights and that too became more predictive as the story continued. And I didn't get why the author put so much importance on the romance between Jason and Gwen. I quite liked Gwen because she makes Jason better as a character. But the romance was a tad more than usually what I like in a litrpg/gamelit book. Jason was often day dreaming and I hope it doesn't get bad in the sequels. 

As for the game aspect like the building and the way the spheres work out, I quite liked the basic foundation. I enjoyed the light building with their camp and fighting fortifications. And I hope there is more of it in the future books. For now, I enjoyed the read in spite of its slowness. I believe I will continue with this series and see how it progresses. 

My one review : A soft gamelit/litrpg book with a slow start.

Floryie