achingallover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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
4.5
it felt like a story arc in critical role and that's exactly what i wanted it to be. also the audiobook was very well acted (as expected)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Violence
ilucam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm a huge Critical Role fan, and this book had promise. But it let me down in two major ways:
The central conflict felt contrived, with tenuous in-world rationale to continue it. I kept wanting to yell at Vex and Vax, " just talk to each other!"
Being invested in characters' situations is hard when we know they're going to be relatively ok when we next meet them. This is a problem with prequels in general, rather than with with this title in particular, but I was already having a hard time staying interested in the plot due to my first point.
The pacing is unbalanced; some scenes feel drawn out while others are over too quickly, and it makes for an odd experience.
The flashbacks to Syngorn and Byroden are great additions, and having the full story of how Vax got wrapped up with the Clasp is nice, but this book, even with cast performances, is a bit disappointing.
The central conflict felt contrived, with tenuous in-world rationale to continue it. I kept wanting to yell at Vex and Vax, " just talk to each other!"
Being invested in characters' situations is hard when we know they're going to be relatively ok when we next meet them. This is a problem with prequels in general, rather than with with this title in particular, but I was already having a hard time staying interested in the plot due to my first point.
The pacing is unbalanced; some scenes feel drawn out while others are over too quickly, and it makes for an odd experience.
The flashbacks to Syngorn and Byroden are great additions, and having the full story of how Vax got wrapped up with the Clasp is nice, but this book, even with cast performances, is a bit disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
etoothpaste's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Blood
Moderate: Sexual harassment
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