Audiobook Review: Exploit, Extract, Exit! (Dungeon Runner)by Dustin Tigner, Narrated by Jackie Meloche

Exploit, Extract, Exit! is the first book in the Dragon Runner series written by Dustin Tigner, and the audiobook is narrated by Jackie Meloche. This is a collection of six novellas set in the same world with connected characters.  There should be two more books coming in this series. 

Eighteen-year-old Entin Soroy was supposed to be the cogging best fighter pilot of the Garentin space colony. But after an unthinkable terrorist attack forced the colony to digitize to survive, he finds himself thrust into a world repurposed from a rushed video game: Eternal Fantasy Online. This new reality might be beautiful. It might be full of endless wonder for its new immortal inhabitants. But the developers, in their haste, failed all those who lost their families and were too young to be given starting resources. Now Entin is a market Runner, working for copper chyps delivering packages to earn what little he can for the orphanage. It’s grueling, thankless work. That is, it was until a far more lucrative job found its way to him, revealing a new path forward. But nothing is ever easy. There are risks involved with going into the Wilds, a place of monsters and dangerous mysteries. Is the loot worth it? What price will he have to pay to succeed where others have failed? Full of adventures, puzzles, and unusual paths to success.

Exploit, Extract, Exit! is not quite what I had expected when I started listening, but that is because I read the author's name and not the description. This is not related to the Arachnomancer series- this is a different game world, with different characters and rules. Once I got past my own expectations I was able to get drawn into the story much more. I thought the characters and world building were well done, and I enjoyed getting to know new aspects of the world along side the characters. I thought the dynamics on Entin and his circle of friends and found family were fantastic, and I enjoyed that those relationships grew and changed without making it the focus of the story. I really liked the development of the main character of the alternating stories, and think she shows a great deal of growth in her stories as well. I liked the world building, and while the author admits in the forward and afterward of the book that it comes off as a little disjointed, because of the format the stories were originally written in, I think it still is very much worth the read, and I look forward to reading more to find out how everything comes together.

Book Review: Those Snow White Notes, Volume 1, by Marimo Ragawa

Those Snow White Notes, Volume 1, by Marimo Ragawa is a manga style graphic novel recently translated into English. When Setsu's grandfather died, so did Setsu's "sound"—his unique creative spark. Grieving, he goes to Tokyo to find himself, but manages to become totally, literally lost on his first day. Only a chance meeting with Yuna—aka Yuka, the hostess—saves him from being robbed. At first glance their lives seem totally different, but they're both striving for their dreams—hers, of being an actress, and his, of developing his talent with the shamisen—and it could just be that life in the raucous, unfeeling urban sprawl of Tokyo could just be what binds their fates together.

Those Snow White Notes is a story that started rather rough for me, but did capture my attention. The first few pages had me uninterested- so I took a break and switch reading material. But, I am glad that I came back to it. When I gave the book a second chance I was introduced to a variety of characters that had me interested and engaged in their interactions. By the time the volume was over I was disappointed that I did not have more to read about how these people would all continue to interact and how some of the newer characters would play into the story. The art was hit and miss for me- some of it was perfect- capturing the emotion of the music on the page- but some of the character features just did not work for me. However, that is all about personal preference not the skill or quality of the work.