Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

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Great. That is a good word to describe this story. I've barely read one volume and have gotten addicted to it.
In the many novels that incorporate MMORPG elements, this is one of those that deviate from the normal formula and also incorporates more of a realistic take.
A group of twelve wake up in a the darkness without memories except for their names. The need to survive is right there, after all, food and necessities must be bougth, right?
You are given a chance: become one of the many that fights monsters or find another way to live. But experience plays a role and for people without ... memories, what experience is for them? The only option to survive is to risk your life.
But not everyone can adapt easily and not everyone can be ready for these challenges. One think I like in this novel is how it portrays such a thing. Teenagers learning to fight and without memories will obviously struggle. Battles must be made and some won't be won. In others, fleeing will be the best option, but nothing stops anyone from dying.
And even if someone dies, the fighting will have to continue.
I really like the characters. The protagonists aren't overpowered and have to make use of their intelligence and skills. At the same time, they aren't a genius in so to say and that has an impact; only when they stop to look aroung and analyze the situation, they can understand how to succeed. Why does my teammate act like that? Why can't I get better? Why is the enemy so strong?
Is it really the others' fault? Is there really nothing that I can do?
In the first volume, I really liked the novel and how the story progresses and characters develop, so I am giving this series a 9.
I really enjoyed the novel, but somehow I realized it lacked something, a long-therm objective as pointed out by Haruhiro in one point in it. As such, as the next volumes progress, this rating may change.

What to expect:
TL;DR Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is a fresh take on the "Stuck in a video game" type of story. This novel gives you a realistic take on what is likely to happen if one was transported into an MMO-like world. The world is brutal, unforgiving. Character are realistically cautious and take a "slow and steady wins the race" type of approach. The author constantly reminds you what happens when one is careless in this world. If character development is important to you, and you want a realistic approach to the "trapped in another world" genre, then you will certainly enjoy this book.

Characters:
The ... characters well written. Every character is human-like and has unique thoughts and feelings that people can identify with. For better or worse, characters can and will anger you. However, this is intentional as it is used for character growth and development. The characters and how they develop, is easily one of the best things about these novels.

Story: While the story starts off as a generic transported to another world this novel distinguishes itself on its realistic approach. The characters aren't gifted, they aren't given some super special power. They start mediocre and slowly become less mediocre. While world building does occur, it is done in a way of discovery. Less in a way of being taught, and more in a child exploring the neighborhood type of way.

Enjoyment: Between the good story and the excellent character development, this is definitely a great read.

"OMG! Finally someone succeeded in creating something good!"
That was my first thought when i saw the anime. The art, the story, the dialogue, the world... All of them were something I've always longed for but never found.
So, after the anime ended, of course I had to read the source material to find out what happens next.

Like I've said, the world of Grimgar is fantastic. It is something any RPG lover would feel like home. And after reading the 1st volume "Afterword", I was like "huh, this author sounds like me". I was reading volume 3 and I was imagining how the anime would look like. ... "oh, nice. Oh, so this is the perfect way to end the season. And the next one can start like this.. I can already see it. Uuuuuhhh, its gonna be great!" Well, all I can say spoiler-free, is that the books go downhill after volume 3. Or starting with volume 4. And the reason is: the couples. At a first glance it might look like something that shouldn't impact the story too much. Wrong! You can have dragons, a normal guy or a genius doing heroic feats, you can kill some dear characters and still it will work itself out. But if you put the wrong people together, well, that's the part that makes or breaks a masterpiece. Or should. These days its all about forums and novel clubs and whatnot. "OMG! You watched the anime but you haven't read the source?" And the "tricked" person will praise the same bad things of the novel to other persons and so on, and so on. By volume 6 I was almost shouting "Oh, c'mon! How could you screw it up that hard? WTF?!?". And I won't even start with the whole inner monologue. Some people might say that's for character development. Those people would be wrong. Very wrong! I usually don't care if is isekai or not, if it is harem or not, if the chars are overpowered or not, if the pace is slow or not, but when you copy/paste the same damn inner monologue over and over again, well, that's where I draw the line. Again. It was cute for the first volumes. Even understandable. I mean I could see the struggles and understand why. I was oki even with the very slow pace. The changes don't happen overnight. I get it. But changes do happen, even for a mediocre person. The way the MC is described as. So when you get to the final arc and and the inner monologue is the same... But hey, the author made some quick buck with every new volume, even if the story is s**t. "Hmm... Should I make him a bit smarter? Learning from his past mistakes? Well the deadline its too soon I can't be bothered to think about that now. Lets copy/paste the same thing over and over, but in a new decorum. I really need that money to keep flowing in until I figure it out..."

By the end, the loser (author) starts to pick up the pace of the events, but the "writing" is the same (horrible), tries to manipulate the reader's feelings with some nonsense character killings, the art is more and more on the way to ecchi (not a bad thing, obviously, but why now? You've finally figured it out that you can't attract readers with the story anymore?). Anyway, you get the gist.

World: 10/10. Spectacular!
Art: 6/10. Meh. Its only about characters. And even that is not top-grade. I mean, if you went for "lets draw some cute characters and hope it will attract readers", you could at least make sure the drawings/proportions are the same. The last volumes are even worse, trying to keep the readers hooked with sexier drawings (if the writings sucks, what else can you do?)
Couples: 2/10. The author messed up big time.
Return value: only if you can stop to Volume 3. It is better to just watch the anime.

In the end, all I can say is that I had high hopes and unfortunately it feels like I was robbed of something precious. It would be nice if authors could get sent to jail.
You know, it is funny. I keep writing this review and I keep breaking down 'cause I remember how he destroyed something that could've been the foundation of a new era for this genre. I've never did this, but he's the first person I'd spit in his face and then look at him with utter disgust.
Anyway, do yourself a favor and watch the anime, read the first volumes and then stop. I know we want an ending, some closure, but don't. What I mostly regret is that the author made money after me. He tricked me (and probably many more) with his first volumes. For the first time in my life I wish some fanfic would appear, canon the first 3 volumes and correct this mess.
With a bit of luck, we'll never get a new season. But if we do, lets hope they change the story.