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ilucam's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm a huge Critical Role fan, and this book had promise. But it let me down in two major ways:
The central conflict felt contrived, with tenuous in-world rationale to continue it. I kept wanting to yell at Vex and Vax, " just talk to each other!"
Being invested in characters' situations is hard when we know they're going to be relatively ok when we next meet them. This is a problem with prequels in general, rather than with with this title in particular, but I was already having a hard time staying interested in the plot due to my first point.
The pacing is unbalanced; some scenes feel drawn out while others are over too quickly, and it makes for an odd experience.
The flashbacks to Syngorn and Byroden are great additions, and having the full story of how Vax got wrapped up with the Clasp is nice, but this book, even with cast performances, is a bit disappointing.
The central conflict felt contrived, with tenuous in-world rationale to continue it. I kept wanting to yell at Vex and Vax, " just talk to each other!"
Being invested in characters' situations is hard when we know they're going to be relatively ok when we next meet them. This is a problem with prequels in general, rather than with with this title in particular, but I was already having a hard time staying interested in the plot due to my first point.
The pacing is unbalanced; some scenes feel drawn out while others are over too quickly, and it makes for an odd experience.
The flashbacks to Syngorn and Byroden are great additions, and having the full story of how Vax got wrapped up with the Clasp is nice, but this book, even with cast performances, is a bit disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
etoothpaste's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Blood
Moderate: Sexual harassment
egfrith's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Violence
droggelbecher42's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book so much.
I cried, I got incredibly angry, I laughed and smiled.
Some of my favourite things about it (no spoilers):
- incredibly organic sibling dynamic, both full of bickering and true care
- the audiobooks narration by Robbie Daymond with voices from Laura & Liam
-> incredibly immersive, I forgot that an adorable little girl was in fact also spoken by him
-> the twins voices, as a fan of campaign 1 I just missed their in character voices, but even without that aspect it just added to the immersion
- complex issues and characters
-> I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a issue that is portrayed in a very unique way, giving equal times to both sides of the story.
- flashbacks!
-> They were well timed and made me appreciate the characters more, while also givivng more perspective to their flaws
- lgbtq+ representation
Tl;dr:
Good book, beautifully told story, not only for fans of campaign 1 & critical role, but also for fans of fantasy stories, intrigue and family dynamics
I cried, I got incredibly angry, I laughed and smiled.
Some of my favourite things about it (no spoilers):
- incredibly organic sibling dynamic, both full of bickering and true care
- the audiobooks narration by Robbie Daymond with voices from Laura & Liam
-> incredibly immersive, I forgot that an adorable little girl was in fact also spoken by him
-> the twins voices, as a fan of campaign 1 I just missed their in character voices, but even without that aspect it just added to the immersion
- complex issues and characters
-> I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a issue that is portrayed in a very unique way, giving equal times to both sides of the story.
- flashbacks!
-> They were well timed and made me appreciate the characters more, while also givivng more perspective to their flaws
- lgbtq+ representation
Tl;dr:
Good book, beautifully told story, not only for fans of campaign 1 & critical role, but also for fans of fantasy stories, intrigue and family dynamics
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Bullying, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty and Slavery
Includes some themes of terrible family dynamics, trust issues and feeling worthless
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