Vasily Mahanenko starts the book with the creation of Barliona an imaginary world of monsters and everything you could dream of. Barliona at the start of the novel comes before us a virtual reality game that has become so popular with people that they now spend months in it. Engaged in battles the players can become anything of their choice. They can transform themselves into mythical characters and legendry warriors as well. They also face things that they only dreamed about in the real worlds.
Elves and dragons are there for a fight and then you can meet princesses with a charm you cannot resist. The good thing about the game is that nothing that hurt of touches you gives a pain both in the virtual and the real world. But this is something that is for the players who are in it for fun. The others however who are send here for their bad deeds, the world is a living hell as the pain is real for them in both worlds.
They will get real burns and thus can dies as well. It’s a survival quest for these players as they march on toward the next levels. The book can be read along with A Second Chance and Shaman’s Revenge in order to understand the writing style of the writer and also we will feel a continuity in the series as well. Jonathan Yen like always tackles the combo of fiction and fantasy quite well as he narrates with passion and the skill that he possess.
One good thing about the narrator is that he never tries to overdo things which keep the originality in his voice alive.
