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kendylldrilling's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Sorry in advance to my friends who like this book. I have many gripes with this book.
First, the writing of this book had enough errors in its grammar to pull me out of the story. There were several instances where I would have to reread a sentence due to a missing comma. This happens to me fairly often with what I read, but in this case, it was happening to me at least once a chapter. Further, I could have done without most of the jokes and innuendos. I made it very hard for me to take the main characters seriously, since it seems that everything out of their mouths was something a middle school boy would say. Most of the time, I was rolling my eyes at the dialogue, especially when it was a touch too modern, leaving it incongruous with the world I felt was being built. And why were there so many jokes about being overweight? I nearly dnf’d after being introduced to the character of piglet and reading the reasoning why. A really big hindrance of me enjoying this book at all was my brain absolutely disengaging whenever it came to an action scene or a scene that was supposed to be high in tension. I was never concerned for the characters, even though bad things seem to be happening to them all the time.
While I understand this book is supposed to be very DND coded, it felt like there was never a moment for “downtime“. Traditionally, plots in books have peaks and valleys, which makes the tension all the more heightened. However, these guys are just running into one potential disaster after another. I know that’s kind of the point, especially to showcase how bad off the world is, but it became grating sooner rather than later. The “twists” felt extremely obvious and predictable to me, and a lot of the plot points seemed convenient.
The way the world building was done had no immersion for me whatsoever. I was familiar with a lot of the creatures utilized, as a lot of them are pulled from mythology. But it felt as if they were there just to be there. There was little history about any of the ones introduced. I would have much preferred if they had been less monsters introduced and we just got a more in-depth look at some of them.
Lastly, the characters are very archetypal and can only be distinguished from each other by one characteristic. I always prioritize characters over any other aspect of a book, and not being able to connect to or care about the characters drove down my enjoyment. There was never a moment when I felt any empathy for our characters and any time they had “growth”, it seemed obvious.
Ultimately, this book just wasn’t for me.
First, the writing of this book had enough errors in its grammar to pull me out of the story. There were several instances where I would have to reread a sentence due to a missing comma. This happens to me fairly often with what I read, but in this case, it was happening to me at least once a chapter. Further, I could have done without most of the jokes and innuendos. I made it very hard for me to take the main characters seriously, since it seems that everything out of their mouths was something a middle school boy would say. Most of the time, I was rolling my eyes at the dialogue, especially when it was a touch too modern, leaving it incongruous with the world I felt was being built. And why were there so many jokes about being overweight? I nearly dnf’d after being introduced to the character of piglet and reading the reasoning why. A really big hindrance of me enjoying this book at all was my brain absolutely disengaging whenever it came to an action scene or a scene that was supposed to be high in tension. I was never concerned for the characters, even though bad things seem to be happening to them all the time.
While I understand this book is supposed to be very DND coded, it felt like there was never a moment for “downtime“. Traditionally, plots in books have peaks and valleys, which makes the tension all the more heightened. However, these guys are just running into one potential disaster after another. I know that’s kind of the point, especially to showcase how bad off the world is, but it became grating sooner rather than later. The “twists” felt extremely obvious and predictable to me, and a lot of the plot points seemed convenient.
The way the world building was done had no immersion for me whatsoever. I was familiar with a lot of the creatures utilized, as a lot of them are pulled from mythology. But it felt as if they were there just to be there. There was little history about any of the ones introduced. I would have much preferred if they had been less monsters introduced and we just got a more in-depth look at some of them.
Lastly, the characters are very archetypal and can only be distinguished from each other by one characteristic. I always prioritize characters over any other aspect of a book, and not being able to connect to or care about the characters drove down my enjoyment. There was never a moment when I felt any empathy for our characters and any time they had “growth”, it seemed obvious.
Ultimately, this book just wasn’t for me.
classwizard's review against another edition
5.0
This shouldn't have made me cry. Did it? Yes. Yes, it did. On multiple occasions actually. There's just something so satisfying about old heroes kicking ass alongside new up-and-coming adventurers.
quentin_eddington's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This is a highly imaginative adventure that kept me hooked from beginning to end.
eiion's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Kings of the Wyld is, quite possibly, the best fantasy book I have ever read.
It reads like a D&D adventure, comes together with all the love and care of a carefully crafted world and the characters that fit within it.
This is a book that every party wants their adventure to be like, it is a book that perfectly encompasses the ups and downs of a tabletop adventure, the chaos, the magic, the laughs, and the sadness. The humour is crude, but the emotions are real, and I felt like I knew each and every one of the people that showed themselves on a page.
I cried and I laughed, and reading this book took me right back to my roots, to the wild stories I always read as a kid and to the fantasy adventure I had been craving as an adult. Eames perfectly encapsulated the genre of adult fantasy here - who says that everything has to be so serious all the time just because it's meant for adults? The crude humour and the shocked laughter only added to the world, and it made our group of ragtag old men seem all the more real.
The worldbuilding was immense and amazing, and it left the entire world open to imagination. This was one of many adventures that could happen in this area, and as a DM myself, I'm almost tempted to use the map for my next campaign. It wasn't built around our characters, it was crafted perfectly and our characters were built with the tools to survive it.
This was a reckless, fun, and emotional adventure, and I can not reccommend it enough. To those who love to read, to those who need adventure, or to those who wouldn't mind reading about their dad getting to wield the biggest sword he could physically carry (or any dads who would like to wield a similar size sword). If you like anything fantasy, this book is for you. I promise you, it will not disappoint.
It reads like a D&D adventure, comes together with all the love and care of a carefully crafted world and the characters that fit within it.
This is a book that every party wants their adventure to be like, it is a book that perfectly encompasses the ups and downs of a tabletop adventure, the chaos, the magic, the laughs, and the sadness. The humour is crude, but the emotions are real, and I felt like I knew each and every one of the people that showed themselves on a page.
I cried and I laughed, and reading this book took me right back to my roots, to the wild stories I always read as a kid and to the fantasy adventure I had been craving as an adult. Eames perfectly encapsulated the genre of adult fantasy here - who says that everything has to be so serious all the time just because it's meant for adults? The crude humour and the shocked laughter only added to the world, and it made our group of ragtag old men seem all the more real.
The worldbuilding was immense and amazing, and it left the entire world open to imagination. This was one of many adventures that could happen in this area, and as a DM myself, I'm almost tempted to use the map for my next campaign. It wasn't built around our characters, it was crafted perfectly and our characters were built with the tools to survive it.
This was a reckless, fun, and emotional adventure, and I can not reccommend it enough. To those who love to read, to those who need adventure, or to those who wouldn't mind reading about their dad getting to wield the biggest sword he could physically carry (or any dads who would like to wield a similar size sword). If you like anything fantasy, this book is for you. I promise you, it will not disappoint.
bookworm1912's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jgor54's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sambo_0103's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0