Probably this wouldn't hold up as well now, but I recall loving it when I read it in my early teens.

Nice introduction to the series in what might be the first or at least an early example of the now popular litRPG genre. Gamers are sucked into the game world. The thing I disliked the most in this book was that the characters name and character's character names kept on being used throughout. I understand why the author did it, to show how when in the game world the character's character had as much say in a characters decisions as the character did. The author could have just done it for a chapter or two and the reader still would have gotten the point. ( )

Telegraphed dialogue. Interrupting dialogue with internal monologue. Obviously cut out a lot of the actual quest itself too meet the mass paperback size requirements, but poor editing throughout. For example, when the men go back to kill the slavers who raped the women party members and that scene is not shown. Why did we even need the slavers to catch up? Just go to the tunnel in the mountain and have some Interesting stuff happen there. Also , sometimes someone says something they shouldn't know. ( )

D & D turned real

So you know how writing professors tell you not to write about your D & D campaign? This is that.

I mean, I’ve never had a stigma about it, so I embrace the concept. Five or six people get whisked away into their fantasy world they created at the table rolling dice. They’ve all become their characters and have to get back home.

This was probably more significant in the eighties, when these college kids had to do their research at the library instead of the computer. Today it’s old hat. I’m not saying the book is out of date, but it’s falls into some other fantasy trappings. There’s nothing about this fantasy world that makes it different from any others. I expected to see creepy D&D monsters and elements like sentient swords and beholders. But this is a pretty standard get from point A to point B with a few stumblings on the way.

I will say the pacing is pretty good and most of the characters are distinguishable, but inconsistent. One character dies and no one seems to give a rip. Another has muscular dystrophy and he’s torn between staying or going back to the real world. So it scales back and forth. I can’t tell whether the tropes are cliche by now or not, but I don’t think they were when this was written.

There’s lots to dislike about the book, but here’s the one that’ll make you drop it–it uses rape as a plot point. The females get barely any screen time to begin with, I don’t think a single scene takes their POV, and I don’t think they have a conversation with each other. But when a troop of bandits kidnaps them, they take the women into the back. This is purely to give the characters motivation. Any love I had for this book dropped. It happens about 80% of the way through, so I finished it anyway, but all the book’s good will left the building. Especially when it takes the big strong men to avenge the rapists. One woman goes catatonic and the other acts like nothing happened. This is what people point to when they say fantasy doesn’t favor females. I won’t be reading any more in the series. ( )