The Calamitous Bob is fantastic! The characterization! The clever use of a common plot! A main character who isn't a native English speaker!! Interestingly, this book doesn't move at breakneck speed, even though it is quite compelling. I think that's kind of unusual, especially for an action novel.

The author's profile on Amazon starts with, "I write fictions with a purpose: to evoke emotions in my readers." Mission: accomplished! While none of the characters so far are people I would really want to hang out with, they are interesting people who I nonetheless want to see succeed/survive. I really like found family stories, and the found family element here is intense. The golem especially has some moments with the main character that I found really moving. And the best thing about the main character? It makes sense for her to be good at combat. She isn't just some sweet little thing who hides behind other characters, nor is she a little girl who is suddenly good at combat for no reason. She is a woman who has been trained for combat, plus she was a medic and the child of a politician (I think), so she knows about medicine and how to manipulate people to get her way. This is competency porn.

The setting is pretty good with some kind of terrible explosion in the distant past having caused a desert full of undead things. Other than that, it is pretty much what you would expect from some medieval fantasy world with magic. I expect that I'll learn more about the setting over the course of the series.

The plot starts out kind of goofy, and even once it shifts to Viv as the main character, I wasn't really sure where it was going. I'm still not. The beginning is interesting but not rushing anywhere. I get the impression that it is going to move in the direction of found family (slowly gaining followers) while trying to deal with some issues that the main character wants dealt with. I also wouldn't be shocked if it turns out that the golem has a plan. The plot looks like it will be fun, but I think the characters are driving this story. And this is where I am after having listened to the first book. See what I mean about it moving slowly? It is just fine, though. The pace seems just fine.

Will I read more books in this series? Absolutely. I am so into it.

Should you read this book? If you like fantasy and aren't uncomfortable with the LitRPG genre, then yes. I can't say just yet if it will pan out, but I have a really good feeling about this series. Stay tuned, and I'll let you know how it goes.