Review – Camelot Overthrown by Galen Wolf
I received a free audio copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion of the novel.
I didn’t realise when I signed up for this that it was a Lit RPG. While I don’t hate them, they’re certainly not my favourite, although I have come across a couple of decent ones. We can add this one to that list.
Gorrow starts playing the game Camelot Overthrown, and we get to follow him as he levels up and starts to become competent. The game is an Arthurian MMORPG, except the creators have taken some liberties with British folklore and history, but it makes it kind of fun too. Here are my thoughts on the book:
Worldbuilding
As I mentioned earlier, it’s a mishmash of British history and folklore. Along with Arthur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table, we have Vikings and Saxons all coexisting. These aren’t the bad guys though – that role belongs to Satanus (sound vaguely familiar?) as he attempts to overthrow Camelot and bring darkness to Britain. He can’t do it on his own, and he has all manner of RPG and fantasy monsters in tow – orcs, goblins, trolls, ogres and so forth. Gorrow has to fight a steadily increasing number of them, who get more skilled as he does. There’s also the usual ranking and skill malarkey that goes with RPGs, and while there are some stats, it doesn’t really hold back or slow down the story. Sometimes it’s actually interesting.
Score – 3/5
Characters
Gorrow was a laugh – a veteran of MMORPGs who offers a cynical rundown on all the varying aspects of the games, especially on the stock phrases of NPCs. He’s familiar with generic gameplay, and it’s fun to watch him struggle to level up, and avoid being “farmed” and other such gaming evils. There are other obvious gaming nods, such as favoured characters types, that experienced gamers will have a chuckle at. The other human characters don’t particularly stand out except his friend Mercurius, who strikes me as the type who funnels money into the game to advance faster. The NPCs are better, such as his guide, a snooty owl who takes the sarky Gorrow down a peg or two now and again. Some of the names have good comedy value, like the dwarf architect Oliver Stone and his soldiers, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub, which I imagine most of you won’t get the reference – your loss.
Score – 4/5
Plot
It’s a LitRPG, so the plot is not the strength of the book. In this story, which is book one, Gorrow has committed to being a Lawful Good type, and rarely does anything that may affect his Reputation Points, such as running from a battle or stabbing a foe in the back, but maybe there is scope for this down the road. There is a “romantic” subplot where Gorrow takes a shine to another player, who happens to be in a group with her real-life boyfriend, and she reciprocates a little too.
Score – 3/5
Writing
I can’t vouch for any typos or editing booboos, as this is an audiobook, but the words flowed nicely and I never had to stop and think about what had just been said, so that’s a positive. Descriptions arre good, and the vein of humour riddled throughout the book is worth mining for all its worth. Definitely my cup of tea.
Score – 3.5/5
Personal Enjoyment
I did enjoy this. It was funny, the story was pretty good despite the formulaic plot and the NPCs were a blast. The narrator was good, capturing the humour well and giving each character a unique voice, but at times the recording sounded like he was in the can.(no splashes though)
Score – 3.5/5
Verdict
Definitely one for the genre fan. If you’re interested in giving it a go, or like MMORPGs, you’ll get a laugh out of this one.
Total Score – 17/25
