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A review by arlia
The Once King by Travis Bach, Rachel Aaron
5.0
This book reminded me a lot of the first. There's a lot of great characterization and a plot that doesn't lag (like it did in the second).
As a huge fan of Rachel Aaron, I decided to try FFO even though rpglit isn't really my thing, and boy was I rewarded! This isn't typical rpglit (after reading the first two books in this series, I decided to try others--it wasn't to my taste) in which the players just detail their journey and leveling up in the game. It was more fantasy than anything.
This book starts with them going after the Once King due to some revelations about why the players were there and in order to stop the war. But first, they practice with King Gregory. I love King Gregory in this book! How they managed to fit in such great character development in so few pages... I am impressed. And Zen (who you meet in the previous book) plays a major role as Tina's second, proving to be better than SilentBlayde due to the fact that she actually stands up to her.
SilentBlayde goes through his own arc of redemption and revelations, as well as James. I was always a huge fan of James (reminded me of a certain dragon), so I was glad to see that he got to make up to Tina for everything that was done.
Tina gets a pretty convenient resolution, but I'm glad the authors tried to fit it into the plot, and a lot of secondary characters got their own resolutions as well. Many things are resolved pretty well and (as Rachel Aaron's MO) with a lot of talking and reasoning. If only people were that rational and willing to accept their wrongs in the real world. xD
If you're a big fan of rpglit, the second book in the series would probably be more for you, as it details a lot of boss fights and battles.
However, if you love fantasy, or urban fantasy, or even a combination of both, this series is definitely in that style. The personal struggles of the characters, the NPCs, the bosses, were all very well done. The lore especially gave it a high-fantasy feel, and a good one at that.
As a huge fan of Rachel Aaron, I decided to try FFO even though rpglit isn't really my thing, and boy was I rewarded! This isn't typical rpglit (after reading the first two books in this series, I decided to try others--it wasn't to my taste) in which the players just detail their journey and leveling up in the game. It was more fantasy than anything.
This book starts with them going after the Once King due to some revelations about why the players were there and in order to stop the war. But first, they practice with King Gregory. I love King Gregory in this book! How they managed to fit in such great character development in so few pages... I am impressed. And Zen (who you meet in the previous book) plays a major role as Tina's second, proving to be better than SilentBlayde due to the fact that she actually stands up to her.
SilentBlayde goes through his own arc of redemption and revelations, as well as James. I was always a huge fan of James (reminded me of a certain dragon), so I was glad to see that he got to make up to Tina for everything that was done.
Tina gets a pretty convenient resolution, but I'm glad the authors tried to fit it into the plot, and a lot of secondary characters got their own resolutions as well. Many things are resolved pretty well and (as Rachel Aaron's MO) with a lot of talking and reasoning. If only people were that rational and willing to accept their wrongs in the real world. xD
If you're a big fan of rpglit, the second book in the series would probably be more for you, as it details a lot of boss fights and battles.
However, if you love fantasy, or urban fantasy, or even a combination of both, this series is definitely in that style. The personal struggles of the characters, the NPCs, the bosses, were all very well done. The lore especially gave it a high-fantasy feel, and a good one at that.