“Book Review: VEIL Online (Book 2)”

Reviewed by Alexandria Ducksworth

An MMORPG journey with magic, laughs, and plenty of surprises

John Cressman returns with another exciting adventure of programmer Jace Burton trapped in the virtual fantasy world of VEIL. In book one, Cressman captured my attention with twists, turns, and never-ending surprises in this video game world. Thankfully, that continues in the sequel. It’s quite toned down from the first book but still well worth reading.

In the first book, Jace wakes up in the virtual world he had a part in creating. Usually, VEIL players can come and leave their fantasy game as they please. But for Jace, he cannot leave because he is presumed dead in real life.

After a couple of days adjusting to his new virtual life, he teams up with the attractive elf archer Charlena to get to the bottom of the situation.

Now in the sequel, Jace, Charlena, and a few more friends have made it to the capital. Jace’s mission is to contact VEIL’s secret helpline hidden somewhere in the city. The problem: it’s in the King’s castle in the royal district. Only nobility can enter the court with an invitation. Jace and his gang are nowhere near wealthy of any sort, so they need the money, and they need it quick.

Meanwhile, a suspicious dragon is taking out cities left and right. If Jace or any of his friends die in the game, they can respawn at any previously visited town. If there is no town, there’s nowhere to come alive again. Jace and his friends are in the race of their lives, attempting to reach support and avoiding the deadly dragon.

Jace is one step closer to unlocking the mystery of the ultimate VEIL glitch. As he dives deeper into the heart of the situation, he must think of more creative ways to achieve his goals.

Author John Cressman has illustrated once again that he thrives with character development. Not only does Jace continue to blossom into a full and rich protagonist in book two, but supporting characters like Mike, Charlena, and Diana shine in similar but different ways.

This novel speaks the language of fantasy nerdom. We have our guilds, dwarves, orcs, and classic arcane magic. If World of Warcraft or Elder Scrolls isn’t enough to satisfy you, you’ve got a really great option here in the VEIL Online series.

VEIL Online (Book Two) has a few slow moments as well. Jace and the gang may go through a bit too much in order to gain access to the royal district, like fighting many monsters and collecting gold. At times, that causes us to wonder where the story is going and when exactly it’ll move forward with the primary narrative, but fortunately, Cressman often switches gears with interesting reveals around the time our minds start to wander.

Through two books, you definitely have my recommendation for the Veil Online series. Now I guess it’s just time to wait for whatever adventure comes next.

Category: Litrpg Fantasy

Paperback: 586 pages

ISBN: 978-0984408771

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