Elevator Quest starts with a concept that feels both fun and ambitious, and it promises more than it delivers. I loved the concept and the energy, but the execution bucked under its own ambition, tossing about 14 characters into the mixer right from the start and never giving any of them the care they deserved. The fight scenes are thrilling in theory, yet they feel tangled and exhausting because so much is happening at once, making it hard to follow who’s who. Still, the ride is undeniably entertaining, and the book has a fierce, can’t-look-away pace that carries you along even as it stumbles. It’s a fun idea that would have benefited from sharper editing and a tighter hand on the reins, so don’t get too attached to the happily ever after you might expect.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book. #NetGalley #arcreview #ElevatorQuest
3⭐️ story | 4 ⭐️ narration

The publisher blurb described this novel as “A female-led, action-packed fantasy in a Dungeons & Dragons inspired world.”

This sounded perfect for me, as I enjoy fantasy novels, Dungeons & Dragons content, and female protagonists, so I was excited to listen to this audiobook. The cover of the book also appears to depict Tasha, one of the female characters, which lent weight to the idea that this novel would center a woman in some way.

The narrators for this audiobook were very talented, and I would love to listen to more books they have voiced in the future. The audiobook narration is a dramatization, with sound effects and two different voice actors who work together to voice all the characters. The descriptive and narrative non-dialogue elements of the story are voiced with urgency and intensity. Aure Nash, in particular, does a great job moving the reader quickly along and giving the prose an inflection and gravity that it might otherwise have lacked. John Joseph Rogers is especially skilled with varying the different voices of the male characters. Both voice actors were able to strike the right tone to smooth out any pacing and narrative inconsistencies that came up throughout the book.

I think this novel was aiming for greater diversity in its ensemble cast, which is an effort I appreciate generally, but the execution may have been a bit counterproductive in practice. There are 12 characters introduced early on, but rather than give detailed descriptions of appearance, demeanor, or role (as they are all colleagues) the characters are initially identified by race or ethnicity. Once a character has been formally introduced by name, the book usually begins using their name, but there are a number of exceptions where people continue to be referred to as “the [ethnicity] man” even though we already know their names. One character is introduced by name twice before it sticks. Though the women are also assigned ethnic backgrounds, their primary trait is “woman”, and so while a man might be referred to as “the Japanese man”, Tasha (who is central enough to be on the cover) continues to be referred to as “the woman” throughout the book, long after we know her name.

In terms of the plot, the book is a series of combat encounters with little time for reflection or conversation. The death toll in the novel is high, but it lacks emotional resonance because these characters are strangers to us. We know virtually nothing about the characters except that Arnold, undeniably the intended perspective character despite what the marketing would suggest, is the calm, logical leader, a military veteran whose relationships with women are “nothing more than carnal”. The rest of the characters seem to exist mostly to provide exposition about the room they are in, and for the men to discuss tactics and the women to bicker, faint, and burst into tears. On that topic, the women in the novel are heavily stereotyped, which would be less frustrating if the book had not claimed to be “female-led”. The book makes the classic men-writing-women mistake of writing in the rape of women in lieu of character development, and villains in the novel also imply intentions of sexual violence (only towards the women, the men will simply be killed).

Tasha is the female character with the most lines and action, but other than healing people and occasionally using a mace, she doesn’t accomplish much narratively. After the elevator crash, our introduction to her is as a woman “pouting” for selfies, which inspires one of the other women to follow suit, while the men scout the area and discuss survival strategies. Tasha spends a lot of time vomiting, sobbing, and otherwise reacting emotionally while the men occasionally comfort her. The women rarely interact with one another directly, and when they do it is usually to snipe at each other. Anusha has the second highest number of speaking lines out of the handful of women in the book, and her role is to heckle the other women and imply they are impure, and to imply the men are predators before eventually seducing one.

We learn nothing about Laura until more than ¾ of the way through the book, when Arnold suddenly notices she has “curves in all the right places” and struggles to hide his arousal. During their brief conversation, he explains patiently to her that sometimes men do not want marriage, only sex, and the book describes this as “a new, life-changing revelation” for Laura. This remains the sum total of Laura’s character development: she is attractive, and she is in an unsatisfying relationship because she has never in her entire life encountered the idea that men do not always want marriage. The characterization of these women was a disheartening reminder that even in the realm of fantasy, women are rarely permitted to exist as fully-realized human beings, instead being relegated to stock tropes with no inner life beyond how they relate to men.

This book would likely appeal to people who enjoy GameLit or LitRPGs, though this novel does not contain level ups or other heads up display conventions. It would be a good fit for readers looking for descriptive action scenes.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting twist on the classic tropes found in both isekai and dungeon crawl genres, Elevator Quest is overall a fun, entertaining read, likely geared more towards a teenage than mature audience.

The audio version in particular was well done, and I recommend, with unique voices being lent to each character making it much easier to keep up with the somewhat large cast of characters.

The novel opens with a group full of office workers entering an elevator, which spectacularly fails. Instead of death, they find themselves stuck in what seems to be a dungeon, and almost immediately fighting for their lives.

The story is very personality driven, with quick pacing and continuous action that keeps the story moving along. The author is fairly clever with how he establishes his setting and starting his characters “professions”, in a way that was a fresh take the litrgp genre.

I was pretty annoyed immediately by some pretty blatant stereotyping, so much that I almost didn’t continue reading. The author takes some shortcuts to establishing his characters with pretty awful writing; you can tell his ideas on soldiers and women are idealized, and the racial stereotypes are relics of a bygone era. Better editing could have fixed this before publishing, especially since this is really only in the opening chapters.

The story is redeemed by some great action scenes, pretty amazing character development and several unique takes that were refreshing in the litrpg space. The ending (really, several endings) was enjoyable and a delight, enough that my overall impression of the entire novel is raised due to it. I would read a sequel to this series, no question about it.

If you like isekai, D&D or litrpg, this novel is right up your alley!

Emmanuel M. Arriaga’s Elevator Quest is a fast-paced fantasy adventure that drops a group of office workers into a deadly, game-like world. What starts as an ordinary workday quickly becomes a survival quest, with the team forced to fight through hostile environments, gain unfamiliar powers, and work together if they want to make it back.

The book leans into classic dungeon-crawl energy: distinct “zones,” escalating threats, and a party dynamic where different personalities and skill sets matter. The cast is large, but the core group comes through, and the action moves quickly from one set piece to the next.

I appreciated the mix of modern characters and high-fantasy stakes. The contrast between office life and brutal combat gives the story a fun, almost RPG-like vibe, and the stakes steadily rise as the team realizes how unforgiving the quest really is.

I have just one tiny critique: some of the battle scenes seemed a bit repetitive – in several places I thought my audiobook app had lost my place and then heard an unfamiliar detail and realized this was, in fact, a new battle. Still, the momentum and inventive scenarios keep the story moving forward. Also, since this is a fairly new genre for me, I have a feeling that I might have this same critique of other books in the genre.

If you enjoy portal fantasy, team-based adventures, or stories that feel like a video-game campaign brought to life, this is a solid, entertaining read.

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Aure Nash and John Joseph Rogers. The performances added energy and distinction to the characters, enhancing the immersive experience.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author via NetGalley audiobook. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

This book just didn't quite resonate with me unfortunately. I found it difficult to keep up with what was happening with each of the characters and found that some of the portions of emotional depth we ended up getting, really only scratched the surface. I would have loved to have spent just a little more time in between fights to really get to know these characters so that I could feel more connected to them. While I did enjoy getting to see what happened to them after they're back to real life, the ending felt a lot more rushed than what I was expecting.

I may not have been the audience for this, but I really think this could be a great read for someone looking for a fantasy that's fast-paced and action-forward.