The Side Questers by J.J. KochmanskiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Two NPCs in a fantasy MMORPG have become conscious, able to act independently like players.
Why they've become conscious is a slight spoiler, so I won't mention it, but it creates tension and stakes in the real world as well as the world of the game, and adds a layer of dramatic irony.
This is LitRPG-adjacent, but not true LitRPG, in that the game world is explicitly a computer game, not just a gamelike isekai, and there's not a lot of time spent on stats and skills. That works better for me than the more central LitRPG experience, honestly. It's also better written than the average LitRPG, apart from some minor glitches which I'll mention to the publisher (I had a pre-publication version via Netgalley for review).
The characters, particularly Anya, the barkeep, who is the main viewpoint character, quickly won my sympathy. She's courageous, determined and intelligent, and I wanted her to succeed.
The world is a generic fantasy game world, which is more likely to be by design than from a failure of imagination on the part of the author. The players the characters encounter include some arrogant griefers who have bought their way to level 99, and some more-or-less-helpful gamers who regularly play together from widely separated locations.
The plot has an arc towards justice and love and The Right Thing, which I enjoyed. I couldn't see how the author was going to manage a resolution that produced a good outcome for everyone who deserved one, but he pulled it off admirably.
Recommended.
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