Vox Machina: Kith & Kin

Just not feeling it. The book is trying to be an adult fantasy novel, but it reads like a YA book for middle schoolers. The expletives throughout what I read were forced and clearly just there to be there. And the story was dragging on. May come back to it eventually, but for now, I'm out. 

3.5 stars

I really liked this quite a bit. Of course, I have watched enough Critical Role to have an attachment to Vex and Vax. They are great characters, but not quite my favourites.

I found myself more interested in the flashbacks to Byroden and Syngorn for the most part, but the Joran storyline is good to.

I'm an admittedly very casual fan of Critical Role. I followed Vox Machina semi-regularly in high school and I've listened to smatterings of the subsequent campaigns in podcast form. So while I'm not as intensely into it as some, I'd say I have a good idea of what to expect going into the brand's forays.

It's...fine. It's serviceable. It's not bad, just not very interesting. The writing is bland, though the voices of Vex and Vax are well captured. Critical Role caught lightning in a bottle with the main cast's chemistry and enthusiasm which is not captured here at all. The story is played totally straight, resulting in a novel that's generic fantasy, severely lacking in both cheek and charm. Both aspects I think are, well, critical.

There's also some incredibly odd structural choices that I would find less egregious if the actual content was more compelling. Additionally, integrating flashbacks is an incredibly difficult thing to do in a satisfying way. Each flashback should feel as though it is adding context to the present day story, be it for character's actions or behaviours, context in the historical sense or even just some good old parallels and symbolism. Here, they seemed random and irrelevant to the main action though for reasons I can't put my finger on they did engage me significantly more than the main plot (which itself is spread thin).

I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Robbie Daymond with Laura Bailey and Liam O'Brien returning as Vex and Vax which certainly improved my enjoyment. If I wasn't listening to the audio I doubt I would have finished this book. Robbie is a fantastic narrator. If you're a Critical Role fan wanting to read this book, I highly recommend listening to the audio version.

I definitely sound very (haha) critical but I'll reiterate: I thought it was fine. Painfully average. It just didn't feel like Critical Role to me.

I'm not sure that I would have given this book a chance if I weren't a critter but as a lover of the twins I found it to be a fun and enjoyable read (surprised at how much I enjoyed the author's interpretation of Vax and Vex). Pleasantly surprising and yes I am giving it a shameless 5 stars because Critical Role deserves all the love and they gave us a backstory for Simon so I'm happy. ALSO TRINKET!!!

This book was... fine? I came away feeling underwhelmed but not as though I had wasted my time. But as many other reviewers have said, I don't know if I'd have finished this if I hadn't already seen C1 and loved the characters.

It was really a mixed bag. I like stories that delve into the grey areas between right and wrong, but this wasn't a particularly notable example of that. The characterization of the twins was spot-on, but a lot of the other characters felt flat. The writing was unclear, especially during action scenes, and the threats (Syngorn, the Clasp, the ash walkers, etc.) all felt toothless. But I appreciated the queer and disability representation.