Reviews with content warning for Violence - Critical Role: The Mighty Nein — The Nine Eyes of Lucien

I imagine I would’ve enjoyed this more had I been more familiar with the original campaign and material, but I suppose that’s the risk of IP writing.

For me, this book started off very slow. There were definitely intriguing points, but for the most part, the first half wasn’t much of a page turner. Things started to pick up in the second half, but by then I wasn’t too invested in the story.

Additionally, Roux’s prose is artistic but I found it made it harder to follow the story (combined with or perhaps contributing to my stunted interest).

I liked the use of fonts and different sizes to represent different voices and conversations

, but the actual wording itself I found to be too long-winded. I think it would’ve been a lot more enjoyable for me had I listened to the story its in original form as a campaign or even if I had listened to the audio book—I could imagine that her writing style would be lovely to listen to

(especially because the narrator is Robbie Daymond)

.

All in all, while I found certain plot points interesting and can appreciate the writing style, I definitely can’t say I enjoyed it as much as a real Critical Role fan or anyone else familiar with the IP would’ve.

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ashley_ren_'s review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

I read this book with no context from Critical Role (which isn’t necessary but I immediately read synopses from CR to understand the story better).

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wispy_reviews's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-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

3.5

I want to say off the bat that Roux is an incredible writer. Her prose is so much fun to read, and she writes these characters so lovingly.
This is my first foray into this kind of book; the extended canon style of fiction that requires prior knowledge of the source material. I’m a fan of the podcast and show Critical Role, but even though I am the target audience this style of novel just might not be for me.
I like when things are self contained, when they can stand alone on their own merit, and this book isn’t made to be like that, which is perfectly fine.
I LOVE Roux’s approach to the cosmic horror elements and her note that she took inspiration from the King in Yellow definitely gave it brownie points for me.
The pacing towards the end of the book falls apart in my opinion, once we get to the story covered in the podcast. The voice and character Lucien presents with Critical Role’s protagonists don’t quite line up with how he is in the novel up to that point.

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