This book came up as a random recommendation on StoryGraph, the app I use to track my reading progress. It has graphs and pie charts tracking titles, genre, mood, number of pages read per month and it is GLORIOUS and FREE! Anyway... I've been reading a lot of fantasy recently which is why this came up, I suppose. I mean, nothing screams "Fantasy" like something right out of Dungeons & Dragons.
"What do you mean you've been reading a lot of fantasy recently?", I hear you say, given this is only blog post number two which barely qualifies as "a lot". Well, smarty pants, I'm not blogging in the order I've read books, I'm blogging in some kind of randomised backwards order covering the year so far.
Back to the book. The title and cover did enough to draw me into reading the synopsis because there's a sword and "NPCs" hovering over it, and I'm very pleased that I was lulled into looking at it. Only food has the same hold over me. I'm an easy going woman with basic needs, who'd be lulled into a dodgy looking van if there was promise of a chicken wing and a hash brown. But, BACK TO THE BOOK...
The book is a really cool idea. We hear a lot about adventurers in books or playing them ourselves in D&D or other such games, but we forget about most NPCs (Non-Playing Characters) almost as quickly as we meet them. We roll into town, slay some goblins who are wreaking havoc at a local farm, loot the dead bodies, and move on to the next adventure. This book tells the story of what happens when the adventure goes TPK (total party kill) wrong, and the NPCs are left with the task of cleaning up your adventuring mess, facing the decision of possible certain death, or certain death.
The NPCs choose possible certain death, taking on the task of pretending to be adventurers in order to complete a Royal Summons and save their town from a bonkers monarch. I was surprised by just how heart-warming the story is coupled with it's good humour, character development, and engaging storyline, with a pretty cool story twist! I didn't tell you WHAT the twist is, so technically NOT a spoiler.
It's well balanced, honouring the D&D vibe and never taking the piss out of it. It's an easy read, as well. What you might call "popcorn fiction".
It's the first of five books in the series of Spell, Swords, Stealth. I'll definitely be reading the rest!
Plot or Character driven | Mix |
Strong Character Development | Yes |
Lovable Characters | Yes |
Diverse Cast | Yes |
Pace | Fast |
Should I read it?
Yes
Favourite Quote
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Adventurers, however, were under no such moral obligations, and rushed into battle with the sort of enthusiasm one only finds in idiots, champions, and the unapologetically suicidal.
Get your copy here!
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