Reviews

Going Rogue by Drew Hayes

Only show reviews with written explanations

nest's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous

4.25

titleistmuffin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The pacing of this series is fantastic. This book was another fun adventure while also doing solid work to advance the central mystery of the bridge and the its power to crossover between realms. I just love the characters that have been established and how they each hold their own roles in the party. I'm enjoying the character development structure as well, where each character gets a book to have more focus coming into their own within their defined roles (ie this book was Eric's turn to become a real Rogue). I can tell at this point in the series Hayes is still figuring out what exactly is going on with the bridge himself. But the additional details we are getting are clearly very well planned and thoughtful. Without any spoilers, I'll just say the mystery of the bridge isn't going exactly how I expected it would, but the way it is influencing the actions of people in the game and in the real world is truly subtle and clever, and better than I could have guessed. I can't wait to learn more about it in the next books. And Hayes laid some deep foundation in this book to allow for substantial developments surrounding the central mystery to unfold over many more books.

My main criticism is some of the action sequences can drag a bit, overly packed with detail. You've seen them fight one fantasy being, you've kind of seen them all. The fights are all variations on a theme. The more interesting sections are when we dig into the characters' relationships with each other, and when there is more revealed about the different worlds overlapping. That said, I don't want to get too much info on the bridge all at once, so all in all I think Hayes is doing a good job sprinkling it in at a satisfying clip. I just think the books could be a bit shorter with fewer pages dedicated to action sequences that can become a bit repetitive.