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thistlechaser's review against another edition
4.0
Books #3 and #4 in a series, these two follow so many characters through the real world and a fictional (tabletop fantasy) world. In the real world, a "Spells, Swords, & Stealth" group (Dungeons and Dragons group) runs into real life magic, sometimes pulling them into the fantasy world.
In the fictional world, there's a number of groups the plot follows. The characters played by those real world people, another party made up of NPCs, and others.
I LOVED the first book of this series (a party of PCs dies in an encounter and a party of NPCs steps in to take over the mission). By book four, it's got so beyond that simple, fun plot. Now there are magic artifacts that bridge the two worlds, and other stuff. It's not bad, it's just that I liked the first book better.
There was a whole lot I liked about these two books. The main characters were great (the ones in the fantasy world), and I really enjoyed seeing them learning and growing. They're all such great, flawed characters. The worldbuilding (especially how the gods worked) was really nice, too.
All in all, both of these were really fun reads. I'm looking forward to the next one.
In the fictional world, there's a number of groups the plot follows. The characters played by those real world people, another party made up of NPCs, and others.
I LOVED the first book of this series (a party of PCs dies in an encounter and a party of NPCs steps in to take over the mission). By book four, it's got so beyond that simple, fun plot. Now there are magic artifacts that bridge the two worlds, and other stuff. It's not bad, it's just that I liked the first book better.
There was a whole lot I liked about these two books. The main characters were great (the ones in the fantasy world), and I really enjoyed seeing them learning and growing. They're all such great, flawed characters. The worldbuilding (especially how the gods worked) was really nice, too.
All in all, both of these were really fun reads. I'm looking forward to the next one.
thedisreputabledog's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
bluejayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
As the surprise and delight of the first book in this series is wearing off, I’m beginning to lose my grip on the enchantment that made me love NPCs. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still good books. Objectively not winning any awards, but entertaining, easy and fun to read, and possessing surprisingly great character depth and emotional resonance for a series whose foundation is poking fun at RPG tropes. But this one had a very rough start – mainly because this book has a much stronger emphasis on the meta storyline.
I was fine with the meta story – the RPG players in the real world having some really weird experiences as our NPCs start making their own decisions – in the first two books. It was interesting in a “wouldn’t it be wild if stuff like that started happening in my D&D sessions” kind of way, but I wasn’t all that into it. (As you might have guessed from the fact that I barely mentioned it in my first two reviews.) I much preferred watching the band of trope-wise NPCs have to deal with the tropes anyway. But this book brings the meta story front and center, with Russell and company getting more involved, the three asshole players from book one getting their own section as they play with a new GM, and the reader (but not the characters) getting a sense that whatever is going on is significantly bigger than just some weird RPG modules.
In the beginning, I did not vibe with it at all. I wanted to see our NPCs being adventurers, not these players trying to figure out what’s up with these modules. But by the end I accepted that this meta mystery is going to be the main plot probably from here on out, and at this point I am kind of curious.
Of course, our pretend adventurers get a lot of the story as well, and have the bulk of it once the beginning gets done setting the hooks for the meta story. As you might guess from the title, Eric gets some skills upgrades, but all the characters are pretty well balanced. Timiscore starts working towards some goals, Gabrielle continues her small emotional arc from the previous book, we get to see some of Thistle’s insecurities that he’s kept hidden, and Grumph is working on a new way to be a mage that combines his magic and his physical abilities. It’s really good. I adore all of these characters and I love watching them work through situations that are straight out of a D&D adventure.
The tone of the series is starting to shift, though, and I really noticed it in this book. There’s less focus on humor and poking fun at RPG tropes. The tropes are there, definitely, but the characters point them out less and roll with them more. Perhaps it’s because they’re adjusting to being actual adventurers and not just pretend ones, or perhaps it’s a symptom of the overall focus shift from satirizing tropes to the meta mystery. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if the characters were less dynamic and lovable, I think I would have had a much more difficult time with the shift away from humor and satire and towards a more serious plot.
I don’t think any of these books are going to make me reexperience the surprise and delight of NPCs. But they are still entertaining and solid adventures. I adore the NPC characters – all of them almost equally, which is rare for a book with so many protagonists – and Russell’s gaming group are pretty good. The meta mystery is a solid hook, the tropes are still there even if they’re not laughed at as much, and there is a great emotional core to the story. I am very much enjoying this series and I am definitely reading the next book. (Was there any doubt, though, really?)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Minor: Animal death and Murder
cinnamonly's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I'm really enjoying this whole series.
theredenvy's review against another edition
5.0
Very Glad to know that there is more of this fun series on its way. I highly recommend this series, don't be turned off by the dungeon and dragons gimmick. Its fun fantasy adventure at its best.
surfybridge's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
marcery199's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
God what a lovely series.
The first book is absolutely amazing and I recommend it to anybody who loves RPGs. I found the second book to be a little less so, but this one brings it back.
This series is absolutely lovely in concept and the characters (both in game and out of game) are just wonderful.
I highly recommend this series to anybody who loves DnD
The first book is absolutely amazing and I recommend it to anybody who loves RPGs. I found the second book to be a little less so, but this one brings it back.
This series is absolutely lovely in concept and the characters (both in game and out of game) are just wonderful.
I highly recommend this series to anybody who loves DnD
jessejane306's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
riffmonkey's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
I really liked this book, in this 3rd book in the series it really gets super meta. It makes it a bit hard to keep track of what universe you are in sometimes though. The epilogue was my favourite part honestly.