I have read the entire series and am currently going through a second listen now. This series is incredible, and I think that this story is great as a whole, but this entry in the series is absolutely the weakest in terms of both story and performance from the narrator. I do not think that this makes it a bad book, I was hooked from the first few chapters even on my first read through, and I think that the rest of the series made me feel that this book is worse only comparatively.
Ivan Kal did an absolutely amazing job writing a fantastic hook into the setting, many of the characters that we meet along the way are both unique, interesting, and provide excellent insight into the world as we learn alongside our main characters. The main protagonists provide incredibly varied perspectives on the world itself and the conflicts that they encounter. This book sadly underutilizes many of its characters, particularly someone who is supposed to be a main character. Zach makes very few appearances compared to most of the other characters, though I believe that the story is genuinely better for it.
The Negatives: The story is very long, there is much repetition in phrases that become quite glaring as the book progresses, and it was very clear that there are points where the narrator does not know how to pronounce certain characters names, most notably the character who we spend the most time from the perspective of, Ryun. The narrator often switches between Ry-uhn and Ree-oon for the pronunciation, a problem only present through the first book. Zach and his chapters are much less enjoyable in many different ways, I find that his character in the first book is genuinely pretty unlikable and boring, while being significantly less present than other characters, leaving him feeling almost like a side character in this story.
The Positives: The world is incredibly rich, there are many different story lines that are touched on, characters are largely unique, and the perspectives that we get to see from tell us so much about the world in a way that feels much more organic than other media. The power scaling is interesting, the growth of characters feels fulfilling, and the descriptions surrounding dungeons and boss battles are very well done for what I was looking for. The dialogue between characters feels very organic in most of the story, and the narration is expertly done, showcasing a wide range of emotions which can easily evoke emotion from the listener.
Overall this is a decent book by itself, and provides a perfect introduction into the infinite realm series, which only continues to get better with each book that has been released. I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a long read with fantastic story building, characters, and setting.