Review originally published at: http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookreviews/book-review-desert-runner-dawn-chapman/

I listened to ‘The Secret King: Lethao’ some months ago and Dawn Chapman’s talent completely swept me off my feet, so I decided to pay a close attention to anything new that she got released on audio. I am not really into LitRPG, although I have listened to some titles, but I wanted to give ‘Desert Runner’ a try. I am glad that I did, because I really enjoyed it, and it’s just not the typical LitRPG novel. In this case we have a NPC (non-player character) as a main character, with all the issues associated to an NPC: a certain programming that makes he behave in a certain, trapping her in her role withing the LitRPG. Maddie is a desert runner, and the quest this time is transporting a special package across the desert.

I really enjoyed Maddie’s world, but I would have liked to know more about it. For those not really into LitRPG, there is not a lot about it in this novella, so I think it could work well among sci-fi and fantasy fans. The characters are well depicted, and although there are constant reminders about their role as NPC’s, their stories were kind of endearing and felt somehow real. There is a reference to the real world that made me want to know more, so I am definitely listening to the next book in the series.

The length is just over 3 hours, which makes it ideal to listen to it in between longer books. Maybe, due to the fact that some people don’t want to spend a credit on shorter books, it might be a good idea to release the complete series together as an audiobook.

Andrea Parsneau’s narration was perfect for this book, and I think she had the ideal voice and interpreting skills to impersonate Maddie. Not only that, but she gave a unique voice and style to every character, also transmitting the character’s emotions and bringing them to life. She has a very pleasant voice and her diction is clear. The audio productions was spotless.

I received a copy of this book in audio format from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Fun read! Slightly stilted dialog and pretty basic plot, but likable characters and some interesting mechanics make it an enjoyable trip. Looking forward to where the next book takes us.

Being my first RPG-Lit it was an interesting tale. As an avid gamer and reader this was cool to read but I’m not positive this genre is for me. While the story was intriguing and kept my mind going, more often then not I felt lost. From
The lingo of the novel to the lack of background of the characters I felt I was missing parts of the story that just never came.

Wish it was longer

Looking forward to Book2, but this seemed like it ended too soon. Excellent twist on the LitRPG game trope, it was quite a surprise!

What an awful novella. Another LitRPG, I couldn't believe such a short book could frustrate me this much. There wasn't a single character in the book that I wouldn't want to punch in the face. The reason I took it up is that i found the concept of an NPC protagonist original and wanted to see how it's handled. However, in 109 pages, every single YA cliche happened with horrible characters and non-existent plot.

As this reads more as a serial than a series, I reviewed the compilation of the first three books as one. You can find the review here here.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a huge fan of RPGs. I love the Elder Scrolls series, the Dragon Age series, Pillars of Eternity, I can go on. Desert Runner is a bit more Fallout than Elder Scrolls. It's set in the world of Puatera Online which I heard was a bit like Mad Max (which I've never seen). In this book, a pretty gritty world with a kind of post-apocalyptic feel which I don't usually see in MMORPGs. This is also the first LitRPG book I've read and definitely not

The book centers around Maddie, an NPC who accepts a quest in exchange for a lot of credits. I've never heard of an NPC taking quests so that was a new one for me. It seemed that in this world, NPCs have some degree of sentience. They are also aware of their "visitors" or players from the real world. The premise is very unique, especially seeing how aware Maddie is of her own programming.

The book is very short, clocking in at around a 100 pages, making it more like a novella. Still, it was pretty tightly paced and focused on the story which makes the world-building feel a bit lacking. The RPG mechanics aren't very well explained besides a health bar and some buffs.

What I enjoyed ultimately, is Maddie herself. She's very aware and tries to fight back against the personality and characteristics the programmers forced on her. Still, even though she does try to fight back, sometimes she simply cannot help it. I wonder if she's actually one of those NPCs who are supposed to be the player character's love interest?

The book is tightly focused on its narrative and the two characters. There is insta-love in this book which was explained as a consequence of Maddie's own nature as an NPC. That was very interesting since the insta-love here actually has a reason as to why it exists.

My main gripe here is that it's so short. It's more like an introduction to the world. Still, as an introduction, it does its job well enough to make me want to read more.

This review can also be found on The Bookworm Daydreamer

Notes:
Good intro to the world & characters. I didn't realize that the MC would be an NPC. Onto book 2!

I did not enjoy this. I don't think that this is a good entry into LitRPG at all, and if I wasn't already interested in giving the genre a decent go, this book would make me not want to try it at all.

The main character, Maddie 'Celaena Sardothien' Vies, is the most fluctuating character I think I've ever read. One minute she's cold and all for herself and a strong badass lady of the desert, the next minute she's smitten over a guy she's known for less than 24 hours (yeah, it's p much an insta-love kinda deal). The amount of times we are repeatedly told how grr her programming is so bad and she hates immediately falling in love is so aggravating. Just because this is rammed down our throats doesn't mean we're gonna immediately be chill with the her falling for Alex. But prior to just givibg in to the programming she..... *shakes fist* hates so much, she is the most temperamental gal, honestly snapping over the slightest suggestion that he could help the NPCs.

There is a lot of telling, and not a lot of showing that had me repeatedly going, so what? We are repeatedly told that, wow, Maddie is so cool and badass and her and the Hog are so well known in the Runners, but is this ever shown to us? Not at all.

The world is interesting and I do like the sound of the Tormoal/dragon thingies. But after years and years of them attacking and being so deadly to humans, even nearly killing Maddie, all it takes is Maddie to get in a wreck for her to be able to ~START THE CHANGE~?

Then, there's the editing issues. At the beginning, it's not too bad, but about 60% onwards there are just nonsensical statements that don't mean anything. I read out multiple quotes to my family to help riddle them out and we all just looked questioningly at each other. Characters appear out of nowhere with no explanation and statements made are proven false in the very next sentence. And there's sooooooo many cringe moments and . It was just eye rolling-ly ridiculous at times

Some examples: (no spoilers)
"He's one lucky guy" [he says]
I wanted to agree, but there was something that didn't, that really didn't." - uhhhhh what didn't what lmao

"I wanted to stop the Hog and confess all [...] but the words and the pedal to the metal seemed to be stuck" - I... I didn't think people still used this unironically in the year of our Lord 2019.