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nikki_saulnier's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, War, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Violence, Death, Infidelity, Cannibalism, Blood, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, and Terminal illness
banjo_hammer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
I regularly saw this book recommended to people who wanted a standalone adventurous fantasy story instead of multi-volume epics or grimdark stories. And while it has its flaws, it certainly delivered.
A few critiques: first, it drags on at times. There are side adventures and party members keep getting added. There's also a fair bit of overwriting, repeating details from earlier chapters before verbatim (helpful, but done more than necessary) or using a paragraph for something that only needs 3-5 words. If you're someone comfortable skimming such sections, then it's not so bad.
Second, the idea of mercenary bands being an allegory for real world rock bands was at times amusing, and at others groan worthy. The conceit seemed to come and go throughout the story. A few chapters in I found it annoying, wishing the author would go full-on satire or just lay off with the cute nods and references. I mostly got over it by the middle of the book.
And third, there's a fair bit of Dad the Protector fantasy that's very Taken-esque, in the sense that the dads indeed have "a very particular set of skills." This will appeal to some readers but, I'm sure, not others. That said, I'm a middle aged dad so it hit home with me. Others' mileage may vary.
That said, overall the story was dang fun. The characters are all likeable, if not loveable, in their own ways. Lots of classic D&D style adventure elements, for folks who dig that. I liked that most of the heroes were old and past their glory days. The world felt lived in and its mythology was interesting. I spent the whole book rooting for Clay, Gabe, Moog, and all the rest, curious to see how they would make it all the way across the map. Despite some eye rolls along the way, it was a good time cover to cover
A few critiques: first, it drags on at times. There are side adventures and party members keep getting added. There's also a fair bit of overwriting, repeating details from earlier chapters before verbatim (helpful, but done more than necessary) or using a paragraph for something that only needs 3-5 words. If you're someone comfortable skimming such sections, then it's not so bad.
Second, the idea of mercenary bands being an allegory for real world rock bands was at times amusing, and at others groan worthy. The conceit seemed to come and go throughout the story. A few chapters in I found it annoying, wishing the author would go full-on satire or just lay off with the cute nods and references. I mostly got over it by the middle of the book.
And third, there's a fair bit of Dad the Protector fantasy that's very Taken-esque, in the sense that the dads indeed have "a very particular set of skills." This will appeal to some readers but, I'm sure, not others. That said, I'm a middle aged dad so it hit home with me. Others' mileage may vary.
That said, overall the story was dang fun. The characters are all likeable, if not loveable, in their own ways. Lots of classic D&D style adventure elements, for folks who dig that. I liked that most of the heroes were old and past their glory days. The world felt lived in and its mythology was interesting. I spent the whole book rooting for Clay, Gabe, Moog, and all the rest, curious to see how they would make it all the way across the map. Despite some eye rolls along the way, it was a good time cover to cover
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, War, and Cannibalism
Minor: Addiction, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Alcoholism, and Confinement
billyjepma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A proper hoot and a half. The writing is solid and somehow finds a great balance between maintaining tangible stakes and not taking itself seriously. Eames has played a lot of D&D because the vibes here are exactly that—chaotic, heartfelt, and bursting with a bravado that’s only sometimes earned but is always entertaining. It didn’t rock my world, and the pacing is too meandering for its own good, despite feeling authentic to the kind of adventure it is. The momentum never stalls, though—things move too fast for that to happen, which is a good thing. But the narrative does suffer slightly since the drama rarely has the time it needs to properly crystallize. But yeah, I had a great time and will pick up the sequel because this is the platonic ideal of a fantasy world.
Also, I picked this up to fill the Baldur’s Gate 3 hole in my life, and it rose to the occasion! So, if anyone else is feeling similarly, this might help.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, War, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Cannibalism, and Fatphobia
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This is maybe the most dad-core book I have ever read, for better or for worse. Unfortunately, it was also incredibly mediocre in almost every way for me.
The characters were bland. The only character we really get to know much about outside of a vague trope is the perspective character Clay, and he barely gets anything. Half the members of the Band I honestly don't think the book would be changed by removing. We meet some more characters about halfway through that I was at least more entertained by, but they still barely were necessary. My favorite character was probably Moog, and he was basically just a walking gay stereotype.
Boy, was the plot predictable and the pacing exhausting. The book could almost be broken in sections, and each one is defined almost the whole way. There's an objective of some kind - a place they're journeying toward, a fight they're trying to win, an object they need to get - and each time it plods through them failing and failing. Eames really just beats the reader over the head with how much peril they're in and that the Band will never make it (but I never once believed they'd actually fail). And then suddenly (when I've become so bored I'm contemplating DNF'ing), they get through it - usually with some kind of deus ex - and then the story will get interesting enough for a bit to draw me back in.
The setting is really fun, and that's the extra half star above 2 this gets. I might read the second novel because I'm very hopeful about the characters it'll focus and that the story will be more original.
The characters were bland. The only character we really get to know much about outside of a vague trope is the perspective character Clay, and he barely gets anything. Half the members of the Band I honestly don't think the book would be changed by removing. We meet some more characters about halfway through that I was at least more entertained by, but they still barely were necessary. My favorite character was probably Moog, and he was basically just a walking gay stereotype.
Boy, was the plot predictable and the pacing exhausting. The book could almost be broken in sections, and each one is defined almost the whole way. There's an objective of some kind - a place they're journeying toward, a fight they're trying to win, an object they need to get - and each time it plods through them failing and failing. Eames really just beats the reader over the head with how much peril they're in and that the Band will never make it (but I never once believed they'd actually fail). And then suddenly (when I've become so bored I'm contemplating DNF'ing), they get through it - usually with some kind of deus ex - and then the story will get interesting enough for a bit to draw me back in.
The setting is really fun, and that's the extra half star above 2 this gets. I might read the second novel because I'm very hopeful about the characters it'll focus and that the story will be more original.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Alcoholism
Moderate: Infidelity
valjeanval's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Funny for a couple hundred pages, but the jokes just repeat and the flaws get more noticeable as it goes on. The female characters lack and depth and the run of duck jokes and fat jokes just goes on and on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, and War
brandohs's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Every moment of this book was a pleasure to read and genuinely had me excited
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and War
r_hunt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
skyeuqx's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Gore
i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A solid read and quite enjoyable. But it also has some pitfalls that detracts from the experience
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual assault
kliberty21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Phenomenal book that I regret finishing. This book had me giggling in one chapter, then immediately panicking the next. With so many tales of "coming of age", it's fascinating to read a story of "getting the band back together one more time".
Clay Cooper is a fantastic lead, who is so human and relatable, and the entire group is just incredibly unique and I loved their interactions together along the journey.
Clay Cooper is a fantastic lead, who is so human and relatable, and the entire group is just incredibly unique and I loved their interactions together along the journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism