A review by wardenred
Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party by Kieron Gillen

dark reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

After all, we're all monsters here.

I found this volume more engaging than the first, but also way more depressing. I'm not sure what turn I expected the story to take immediately after the introductory phase that the first part was, but what I got was a deep dive into all the characters in the main group. Given that I'm an absolute sucker for character-driven stories and internal conflicts driving the external plot, I wholeheartedly approve. But damn, all of these people are sure miserable. And for the most part, they've brought it all on themselves. Angela is perhaps the easiest character to empathize is for me because she at least owns her messiness; Ash is the most compelling to follow, because damn.

Despite the focus being on the characters and on filling the reader in on the specifics of their past, the main plot advances, too, if slowly. Just like the title of the volume suggests, the party is split here, and that pretty much always leads to some meandering in actual games. I really appreciate how there are all these nods to the familiar ttrpg structure—it's hard to nail the specifics of interactive storytelling in a non-interactive medium, and the authors here aren't trying to do it 100%, but they do enough to make it recognizable and I like the result. I also like all the outright meta commentary about storytelling and tropes and characters.

Oh, and the way the worldbuilding grows around the story and the characters? Excellent. The Brontё twist in particular was wild, I want more.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings