March to Other Worlds Day 22 Critical Failures 3 by Robert Bevan
March to Other Worlds Day 22 Critical Failures 3 by Robert Bevan
As we start the fourth week of the March to Other Worlds, I’d like to take a few moments to discuss the influence of fantasy role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons on the field of fantasy literature. There is no denying that, for good or ill, (and it has been for both good and ill) these games have had a major impact on the genre. Long before the LitRPGs (Literary Role Playing Games) in which authors actually show the dice rolls in their stories began appearing on the digital shelves, authors were writing about cross over experiences in which real world people became their characters and traveled to (often referred to as getting stuck in) their make believe realms to have their adventures for real. (Anyone remember Joel Rosenberg’s Guardians of the Flame?) I actually wrote an unpublished twist on this idea myself some thirty-five years ago. If you’ve played the games, it’s hard not to dream along these lines of thought.
Robert Bevan is the latest in a long line of authors to play with this idea. I first highlighted his Critical Failures series in the March to Other Worlds 2022. What makes him stand out to me is both his fantastic sense of humor, and his recognition that most of us who play these sort of games are not by temperament best suited to actually living these adventures. In book 3, Bevan turns the whole crossover idea on its head by having his players successfully cross back—with unexpected and hilarious results. You see, they don’t become themselves again—they’re still their characters—hobbit, half orc, elf, etc.—in the “real” world. When you add to this situation that the cast weren’t the most competent individuals to start out with, seeing them try to deal with this new problem while tracking down Mordred, the Cavern Master, who put them in this situation will have you bust your gut laughing.
That being said, I’m not so certain I would have been in a hurry to get back my old body. (Not trying to say I don’t like my life, but think this through with me.) As Caverns and Creatures characters in this world, they all have special powers and abilities that no ordinary human has. Some of them actually have magical powers. Yes, being in the wrong body could cause some inconvenience, but I’m certain on a personal level they could work that out. But being able to do the things our characters can do in the “real” world would be very cool and potentially profitable. But I suppose having his characters happy being their characters would have taken away a good storyline so the reader just has to accept that this is what they want.
I think I should wind up this review by alluding to the best part of the novel. In the last book, Bevan introduced the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the fantasy world—four middle school kids who are thrilled that Mordred transported them to the fantasy world where they glory in racking up levels and gaining more and more power with little concern for what happens if they lose a battle and die. For the entire novel, the reader watches Mordred boost these kids even higher in levels so they can put an end to the problems he is having with our cast of heroes once and for all. I would just like to say, that I don’t think Bevan could have handled the final encounter any better. It’s brilliantly thought out, and like the rest of the book, absolutely hilarious.
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