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Sentenced to Troll

by S. L. Rowland

Sentenced to Troll · Book 1

Chad Johnson has made an audience out of annoying people online. After a stream goes too far, his sentence puts him inside Isle of Mythos for thirty days, wearing the body of a forest troll. He has to get along in a fantasy world where people hate his kind, and his new tribe has problems that his old online persona won’t solve.

FantasyLitRPG Situational comedy Wordplay

From the author’s blurb

“Who says a troll can't be the hero?”

Read the full description at S.L. Rowland author description

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What makes it funny?

The punishment takes Chad’s favorite occupation literally: the internet troll has to live as a troll. A mischievous imp accompanies him on his quests. Readers in LitRPG book groups call the adventure goofy and emphasize its playful mood over seriousness.

The comedy at work

Chad’s new body makes him the outsider in a world he might otherwise have treated as another game to disrupt. Helping a despised tribe offers him a purpose beyond provoking strangers, with the joke of his sentence accompanying his attempts to become useful.

Try this if…

Readers compare the game-world feel to World of Warcraft and praise Chad’s character development. Some credit it with introducing them to LitRPG. It suits a taste for a game adventure with a flawed protagonist who has room to change.

Good to know

Readers flag the first-person present-tense narration as a possible obstacle; some stopped early because of it, while others tired of the series after three books. Readers also praise Eric Jason Martin’s audiobook narration for holding their attention. Rowland has completed the series.

A few distinguishing details

An online troll sentenced to become a forest troll
A thirty-day sentence in a fantasy game

From book groups

Questions readers ask

How is Sentenced to Troll?: Readers describe it as goofy and fun, with a game world reminiscent of World of Warcraft and an emphasis on character growth. Some found the first-person present-tense style difficult to get into.