NetGalley Review: Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons by Jaleigh Johnson
Hey all, Sam here.
With Gen Con starting tomorrow, I’m definitely in a tabletop gaming mood, which in general is true because I’m in two rather awesome gaming groups and we have a couple rather fun D&D campaigns going. But lately I’ve been even more in a epic heroes quest/fantasy adventure mood because of some of the books I’ve been reading…like the upcoming release I’m here to talk about today.
And don’t worry…this book just released on July 29th, so you can get your very own copy now. Honestly, I’ll be a bit jealous. I pre-0rdered this one months ago and because I’ll be at Gen Con, I won’t be able to open my copy until after I get home.
Anyway, let’s go ahead and jump on into the review.
My ThoughtsThe Fallbacks return for another adventure in Dungeons & Dragons’ Forgotten Realms!
The Fallbacks might not be Faerun’s first choice for saving the day, but if the money’s right they’ll get the job done. In this ragtag band of adventurers, each member plays a vital Tess the disciplined elven thief; Anson the courageous fighter; Lark the cunning bard; Baldric the wily cleric; Cazrin the inquisitive wizard; and Uggie, their pet monster who eats garbage. Squint a little and they’re the heroes Faerun needs.
Fresh off a harrowing journey into the infinite dungeon of Undermountain and the defeat of a powerful undead lich (with the help of a giant hungry worm or two), the adventurers are now a proven and dedicated team, ready for a new adventure which will take them to strange new realms.
Rating: 5 stars
I really enjoyed the first excursion of the adventuring group known as The Fallbacks (you can find my review here), so I was extremely glad to see that this would be something where we’d see the same characters returning for another installment….and for the record, I’d love to have at least a few more in this series.
We rejoin The Fallbacks shortly after the first book, and while they have sorted some of the shakiness of being a new group, there’s still a need for the group to build up their trust and camaraderie with each other. Because as some members’ needs get prioritized over others, what’s left unattended can add more cracks to the facade of the party.
Uggie continues to be an absolute joy, and she’s even getting bigger and smarter. (There’s a chance she could become a big problem later, but I’m really hoping that raising a monster doesn’t come back to bite- the party in the butt.) A great deal of the focus in this particular tale is on our deal-making Cleric Baldric, because some of his deals (or trying to run from unintentional deals that were made in a moment of desperation) are coming back to threaten the whole party.
We have some bardic shenanigans from Lark, some moody mysterious drama from Anson, not nearly enough focus on Cazrin, but plenty of attempts at controlling and micromanaging everyone and everything from Tess. Honestly this felt like getting to follow a campaign and see the continuing adventures of a developing party. There are often times when a particular storyline or plot thread will spotlight one or two members of a party over the rest. You can’t give everyone equal focus all the time.
Honestly, I read this probably as quickly as I did the first book, and I can definitely see myself doing a re-read, probably going so far as to read both books back-to-back. There was a nice mix of intrigue, mystery, action, drama, dealings with higher powers, and a healthy dose of shenanigans (plus Uggie related ridiculousness). All in all, it was a rollicking good time, and I’m excited to soon have a finished copy on my shelf. I’ve really enjoyed these recent in-world D&D novels, and I hope there’s plenty more to come in future.
All right, well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
