Book Review: Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin by Jaleigh Johnson
Hey all, Sam here.
I did say last week that this week was going to basically be all new release reviews. There were quite a few good books that released March 5th, and I was lucky enough to read three tabletop RPG related ones early. Like today’s book, which I received a physical ARC in the mail for. I honestly can’t say where it came from (obviously it came from Penguin Random House), but I’m guessing I probably entered a giveaway and won. There was no note or anything in the package, just the ARC of the book.
The squeal I let out when I saw what it was…well it got my husband’s attention. Because, obviously, this is a book that was pretty high up in my most anticipated list. I read Jaleigh Johnson’s prequel book to the “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” movie and loved it, so to hear that she was writing a new group of adventurers for a series set in the Forgotten Realms…well, I was definitely excited to read it.
And now, before I start writing the review up here in the intro section, let’s go ahead and get the actual review started…
My Thoughts
Meet the newest Dungeons & Dragons party in the first epic adventure of The Fallbacks.
To become renowned adventurers, this party needs to survive their first job.
Tessalynde is an ambitious young rogue who dreams of leading Faerûn’s foremost adventuring party. While the crew she’s gathered isn’t the stuff of legend yet, she’s confident her guidance can get them there.
The Anson, a fighter too stubborn to stay down, even when the odds are stacked against him. Cazrin, a self-taught wizard determined to test her theoretical mettle against the real world. Baldric, a cleric who refuses to tie himself to a single deity when he can trade favors with them all. Lark, a bard with as many secrets as songs. And, of course, Uggie, a monstrous pet otyugh who loves giving hugs and eating trash.
Their first recovering a mysterious spellbook from a lost temple for a hefty payout. Tess hopes this assignment can turn her group of fledgling freelancers into a true team. But when their client is killed, their coin and his murderer both vanish, leaving the party to take the fall.
Stuck with a sentient, bloodthirsty grimoire and pursued by mercenaries and the undead, this is hardly the mission Tess envisioned. Her crew must save the day, get the gold, and clear the party’s name—which they haven’t even agreed upon yet! With the threats against them mounting, a single mistake will see this party over before it even begins.
Can this band of mismatched misfits stay together in the face of danger? Or are they bound for ruin?
Rating: 5 stars
Uggie is the BEST! That needed to be said right off the bat. And yes, Uggie is the main POV character for two chapters. I actually read the first of those chapters out loud to my husband because I wanted him to share in my love of this companion Otyugh. She may look like an odd yet somehow cute creature, but she is all cute in her thoughts and personality.
This party is still newly formed, with only a couple of the members having known each other for longer than a couple months, and as such there’s some growing pains and struggles to figure out everyone’s strengths and skills. And it is a rather varied party too, but I think they fit together well,…or they do once they start gelling as a party. Because they do have a few speed bumps and missteps on that journey, which is part of what this book is about.
Aside from Uggie, my favorite character is probably Baldric the cleric…which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who knows me, because I am a cleric main, and I’ve always wanted to work with a DM to play a polytheistic cleric. I’ve actually already seen social media comments for posts about this book complaining that by description, Baldric should be a warlock instead of a cleric. Look, he prays to the gods and asks for their help with things that fit into their respective domains and creeds. And honestly, in the 5E PHB (Fifth Edition Players Handbook), there is a personality trait that is basically “I have a bunch of holy symbols and pray to whichever god is relevant at the time,” and it very much feels like this was how Baldric was built.
I personally loved this twist on a cleric, and if you’re one of those naysayers, just read the book and see how Baldric is actually handled in the text before you whine. And besides, anything can happen so long as the person running the game (or story in this case) says so, and both Jaleigh Johnson and Wizards of the Coast said so, because we all know that this story and the character concepts and such had to be approved by WOTC.
Anyway, I loved learning little tidbits about each of the members of The Fallbacks, and I loved seeing them start to open up to each other, and it was fun to see them try to come up with a party name for adventuring. This book felt like a D&D campaign, with some crazy encounters, intrigue and puzzles, interesting loot, and plenty of shenanigans.
I read this very quickly, especially since it is only 304 pages long. There was action, there was travel, there was party bonding at camp, there were puzzles and mysteries, there was research, there was bargaining, there was several conversations with deities, and there were little peons to fight as well as some BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy/Gal) action. I mean, with a rogue, fighter, wizard, cleric, and bard as the main party, of course there’s going to be a lot going on…although not a lot of horny bard treatment, which is great. Not that horny bards can’t be fun, but it was nice to see a different side to bards.
Oh, I really liked when the party found their home base. I thought that was really cool. And I’d love to say more about it, but I also don’t want to spoil that revelation and aspect of the story, because them coming together, finding this home, and accepting it is actually a really cool plot line within the book.
I am so glad that this was announced as a series starter, because I need more of The Fallbacks. I want to see where their adventures take them next, because I’m sure there will be some unforeseen twists or consequences from this first adventure.
All right, well that is all from me for today. Tomorrow is Friday, which means that I’ll be back with a Weekend Writer post, so hopefully I’ll see you there. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
