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nisha13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Mental illness
Moderate: Violence and Death
sheilafromhr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
aea_hobbit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
kkulmins's review against another edition
i already loved lucien as a character from watching the mighty nein campaign, but this book honestly, genuinely, made me love him more. i just... feel so much for him? not sympathy, but empathy. i understand his motives and his intentions, and even though he was doing some evil ass shit, he was doing it for good reasons. the ends justified the means in his mind.
anyway, this was a pleasure to read. it was a pleasure to get into his thoughts.
anyway, this was a pleasure to read. it was a pleasure to get into his thoughts.
whiitewalker's review against another edition
5.0
The throne lies emtpy; all that remains to be done is to climb the stairs, claim this land for us, and begin my reign.
No tengo palabras físicas para expresar lo absolutamente muchísimo que me ha gustado este libro. Tampoco era difícil, visto que me metí en Critical Role por Mollymauk Tealeaf, my beloved, y este libro al final del día lidia con él. Con el antes y el después, y el presente de una manera. Ha sido increíble. Ha conseguido dar introspección a lo que le estaba pasando a Lucien durante todo el combate de Neo-Somnovem, y por supuesto a toda la situación con los Mighty Nein, e incluso a muchas cosas de antes. Lucien tenías las mejores intenciones con las peores herramientas posibles.
Me alegra mucho que este haya sido mi primer libro de 2023 y, encima, mi primer 5* porque absolutamente merecidas. Encima los capítulos han sido cortitos, lo cual viene muy bien para agilizar la lectura y te ayuda a saborear mejor todo lo que ha ido ocurriendo. También me encanta cuando juegan con páginas poniendo palabras sueltas o cosas del estilo para ambientar, me pierden mucho esas cosas sí soy. 10/10 me lo fumaría.
hamrickishere's review against another edition
4.0
Hard not to compare to Kith & Kin. I wish this felt more stand alone. Even as a big CR fan, I had to constantly look back on Campaign 2 to remember what exactly was going on.
Far from anything bad, just more of a fan work than I'd hoped.
7/10
Far from anything bad, just more of a fan work than I'd hoped.
7/10
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Lucien has always been a compelling and charismatic character, so this is perfect for any fans of Critical Role who wanted a deeper look into his past, as well as his rebirth and race to the haunting realm of Aeor.
This is something that has clearly been written with the fans in mind. Trying to look at it from an outside eye is difficult because there are many moments and time skips that will only make complete sense to the fans. Otherwise, it comes off as a little jarring and confusing.
Lucien remains as charming as ever, though the depths and journey to his madness are explored more fully in this book. He and the Tombtakers are more defined and have a greater bond, much like the Mighty Nein. It's interesting to see them as the heroes from Lucien's morally grey perspective, especially as Lucien begins to battle his own mind.
Since much of the plot follows key moments in Lucien's life and the action scenes are relatively simple, the book moves very, very quickly to its bittersweet ending. I would have liked a little more detail and interaction at some points, but I still enjoyed the charm and imagination that Critical Role always brings.
I highly recommend the audiobook, as each member of the cast puts their heart and soul into their lines, and Robbie Daymond's extensive vocal talents are on full display. This is everything a fan of Critical Role could hope to read.
Long may he reign.
This is something that has clearly been written with the fans in mind. Trying to look at it from an outside eye is difficult because there are many moments and time skips that will only make complete sense to the fans. Otherwise, it comes off as a little jarring and confusing.
Lucien remains as charming as ever, though the depths and journey to his madness are explored more fully in this book. He and the Tombtakers are more defined and have a greater bond, much like the Mighty Nein. It's interesting to see them as the heroes from Lucien's morally grey perspective, especially as Lucien begins to battle his own mind.
Since much of the plot follows key moments in Lucien's life and the action scenes are relatively simple, the book moves very, very quickly to its bittersweet ending. I would have liked a little more detail and interaction at some points, but I still enjoyed the charm and imagination that Critical Role always brings.
I highly recommend the audiobook, as each member of the cast puts their heart and soul into their lines, and Robbie Daymond's extensive vocal talents are on full display. This is everything a fan of Critical Role could hope to read.
Long may he reign.
cleotheo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
The full cast of voice actors appear when you're well into the book. Be patient ;)
redvelveting's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
2.75
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.
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).
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol