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Split the Party

(Spells, Swords, & Stealth #2)

Drew Hayes (Goodreads Author)

4.26 · Rating details · 2,982 Ratings · 179 Reviews

Fleeing from a vengeful king has sent the former NPCs across Solium’s borders, into the kingdom of Alcatham. As wanted fugitives, they head to the small farming village of Briarwillow, hoping to blend in, lay-low, and avoid trouble at all costs.

Unfortunately, Briarwillow has problems all its own, and its troubles quickly become theirs. If they hope to survive long enough ...more

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Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Published March 14th 2015 by Thunder Pear Publishing

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Nov 02, 2015 Lisa added it

Shelves: 2015

MR. PEPPERS!

That is all.

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Jan 06, 2016 Mike rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, humor, fantasy-sword-and-sorcery, reviewed, rpg

After the pure, distilled joy NPCs brought me, I was eager to dive into the next book in the series. While Split the Party (which is such a bad idea there is even a book about aptly titled Don't Split the Party) was a great, action packed read, it lacked some of the charm the first book's premise brought to the table.

In this installment our once minions turned reluctant adventurers have more or less fully embraced the mantle of adventurers and all the baggage that entails:
Eric realized how cra
After the pure, distilled joy NPCs brought me, I was eager to dive into the next book in the series. While Split the Party (which is such a bad idea there is even a book about aptly titled Don't Split the Party) was a great, action packed read, it lacked some of the charm the first book's premise brought to the table.

In this installment our once minions turned reluctant adventurers have more or less fully embraced the mantle of adventurers and all the baggage that entails:
Eric realized how crazy that last part made him sound, only to conclude seconds later that it would have only seemed crazy if they weren't currently in need of exactly such information. Paranoia was only a hindrance where it didn't pay off.
So our brave heroes are on the run from a power-mad king who wants to hunt them down for a magic item they had recovered in the previous book. Of course, being adventurers now in a world whose rules are bent to provide adventurers quests and challenges, they naturally stumble into those two things. Circumstances force them to, you guessed it, split the party to achieve their goals (which mostly involve staying alive).

As with NPCs, Hayes does an excellent job introducing both the reader, who may be unfamiliar with the cliches and tropes of RPGs, and the heroes to the life adventuring in a very seamless way. For most of their lives the heroes have lived in a town where a few gold coins was considered a lot of money. In adventuring a few gold is considered pocket change. When confronted by this harsh reality by the traveling merchant it becomes clear just how they are expected to build their wealth to be effective adventurers:
"Ah, just starting out then. I've seen plenty in that position on my travels as well. Nothing to worry about; once you slay your first dragon or mad wizard, there's bound to be a bounty of gold for you to scoop up. Not sure why they always have huge stacks of uninvested income lying around, but they do."
When the rules of a table top RPG are the physical laws of a universe very strange things happen.

Even with all the hacking and slashing Hayes still finds space to further develop and grow his characters. We see Gabrielle worry over her value to the team, especially after her pilfered ax breaks and she feels like the others are far surpassing her abilities. We see Grumph's iron determination to protect his friends by risking life and limb to becomes a member of the Mage's Guild:
After coming this far, there was no way Grumph would allow himself to be halted by mere drizzle and a chance of painful death. It took far greater dangers than that to dissuade a half-Orc with his mind made up."
We see Thistle continue to grow into his role as a Paladin and further his relationship with Grundle, the God of Minions whom he serves. Even poor, formerly mind controlled Timuscor begins to figure out what he really wants and how to achieve it. All said, as fun as the winks to RPGs were, the heart and soul of this series are the great characters and their relationships with each other. Even a person in complete ignorance of RPGs can appreciate the craft and care put into the characters and enjoy this for the adventure book that it is.

But is isn't all hacking and slashing and serious character development. Hayes expertly sprinkles in humor and real world wisdom as well:
"...They [undead] are by far the most dangerous enemy one can end up facing, and if you are lucky, you only end up being killed by them."

"Wow, that is really depressing. I was actually asking if you knew any ways to turn them back or drive them away. Glad to know we're in a 'hoping for death' situation, though."

~~~

In comparison to the multitude of plans that had been hatched throughout the history of their world, it was not a great one. In comparison to the ones created just in that year, it still fell pretty far short. In comparison to the drunken ravings of men soaked through with mead about how they would slay a dragon and become the new king, however, it was downright coherent.

~~~

Lying on the table as the priest removed his hands from the half-orc's chest and motioned for his sack of gold, Grumph realized that just because someone could call upon the power of the kind gods did not mean they themselves weren't something of an asshole.
Finally, on top of the great action, excellent character development, and well balanced humor, Hayes also advanced the greater plot of the series (how our world interacts with this fantastical one) and laid seeds for future developments (Gabrielle's new ax, MR. PEPPERS THE GREATEST PIG TO EVER BE SUMMONED, the machinations of gods, etc.). I wait in eager anticipation of the third installment, it cannot get here soon enough! ...more

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Mar 28, 2016 Rob rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, fantasy, own, read-2016, humor, author-male

Executive Summary: After a bit of a slow start, this one is as good as the first one, if not slightly better. I sure hope there will be a third book soon.

Audiobook: So here's the downside of a relatively unknown author, with an excellent narrator. The ebook of this looks have come out several months before the audio version. Roger Wayne does such a great job narrating this, that I want to keep listening if/when there is a third book. But can I hold out waiting an extra 6 months to do it?

If you'r ...more

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Mar 24, 2017 Kevin rated it really liked it

Shelves: rpg, fantasy, game, audiobook, litrpg

I love this series, 4 1/2 stars, this 2nd book is better then the first the characters get more interesting and the new character's introduced are equally interesting and somewhat mysterious looking at you Fritz. I'm off to read volume three right now.
Character List
(view spoiler) ...more

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Jun 23, 2016 Mike (the Paladin) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, rpg-fiction

I'm in the process of reading another book by Mr. Hayes right and I've got to say I have yet to pick one up I haven't enjoyed, greatly.

Here we're following the adventures of a group of NPCs (Non-Player Characters) who have found themselves taking the part of (and ultimately becoming) "Adventurers".

This series is completely engaging for me and I find myself waiting and hoping for the next installment in the series. That is a bit odd for me as I also like his Super Powereds series and want to see ...more

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Mar 19, 2018 Timothy Boyd rated it liked it · review of another edition

Nice entertaining read. Humorous with good action and a nice flow to the story. A nice different fantasy story. Recommended

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Aug 20, 2017 May Dawney rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

Another intriguing story that elevated that of the first book! Newly introduced characters and knowledge about the PC NPC's works well. Once more, the story feels like something I could have played myself--which is awesome!

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Jun 14, 2017 Jakk Makk rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: try the print version

Shelves: fantasy, audiobook

Audiobook DNF is an automatic one star. Ran out of library time despite eight listening attempts. It's probably fine.

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Jan 30, 2016 Mary Catelli rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-other-worlds, worlds-of-weird, indie, role-playing-games

The sequel to NPCs. More RPG influence. . .and spoilers for the first.

In our world, Russell is continuing to DM with a new group of players (except for the continuing Tim). A better set. One cleverly persuades Tim that his paladin would choose a different adventure hook, because of the greater number of people menaced. (Meanwhile, Russell is taking notes because last time, he thought the module rewrote itself.) But they're off, and one observes that Tim's original pick will be done with before t ...more

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Oct 21, 2017 Jane rated it liked it

Shelves: z2017, audio, audio-read

3.5 stars

Overall I finished this story enjoying the ride, but it took waaaaaaay too long to really get going for me. I was still contemplating whether this would be a DNF at about the 50% mark. At that point, things finally picked up for me and the second half of this story was much more the adventure I was hoping the book would be. I usually find books in a series have too much recapping in the first few chapters, but this time I almost wished there was a bit more (odd, since I just finished th ...more

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Jul 26, 2017 Nicole rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, audiobook, fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, magic-users

Very enjoyable book! I'm really looking forward to the next books in the series.

I was a bit sad that the narrator changed the voice for Grumble, though I wasn't surprised to hear a voice very like Grumble's original voice used for another associated character toward the end of the book. I don't know if this was intentional, but I suspect it was accidental.

In any case, this is a very fun story and I'm interested to see where the plot takes us next.

(Full review is here.)

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Jun 30, 2017 Kira rated it it was amazing

The second installment in this series was fabulous. Highly recommended to nerds everywhere <3

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Aug 11, 2018 Crowlyeh rated it it was amazing

It was definitely better than the first one. While it is story driven, we got to know the characters a little better as they got to know themselves better too. I really liked it :)

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May 20, 2016 Ron Versetto rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What a wonderful follow-up to NPCs. No sooner had I completed NPCs did I then jump immediately into the follow-up tale which finds our beloved and reluctant heroes knee deep into another adventure.

Drew Hayes picks up the second book in the series almost right where we left our 5 adventurers while symmetrically following up with Russel and Tim to see how they responded to the bizarre events that concluded in NPCs.

In Split the Party we find the band of five heroes in the midst of another D&D l ...more

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May 24, 2017 Samantha rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 21, 2018 Frankie Saxx rated it really liked it

This is a solid three to three point five stars. I enjoy this series, and I'll keep reading it, but it's not one I would rave about at a dinner party or to strangers on the bus. Like a crazy woman.

The NPCs are good, solid characters, and I enjoy their adventures. Hayes constructs a solid, engaging story and delivers a satisfying ending. Which is all a girl really needs in her escapist literature.

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Jan 17, 2016 Rick Stuckwisch rated it really liked it

Engaging and entertaining. I'm glad the story has been continued, and I look forward to the next installment. Some of the language would not be appropriate for younger readers or listeners, but so far nothing risque or explicit. Good fun, especially for anyone with D&D in their background.

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Sep 08, 2017 Doug rated it really liked it

A few years ago I ran across a novel. I don't know if it was from a Kindle, end of book "other readers who read this novel read these...", if I found it here on Goodreads or if it was by pure accident. I do know that I enjoyed it immensly. It was NPC's by author Drew Hayes.

A very fun premise. Non-Playable Characters from a tabletop, role-playing game (much like Dungeons and Dragons) decide that they have to take on the mantle of the "real world" adventurers that just died in the tavern they were ...more

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Apr 01, 2018 Nathaniel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I do not like the Spells, Swords, and Stealth series as much as The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant series, but it's a close second. As I write this review, I've already started the third book in the series, Going Rogue, which is picking up the pace again.

The first book had a great concept and--what I always appreciate from Hayes--a cast of caring misfits. His books have heart.

The second book (this one) lost me a little bit. It kept up the story arc ...more

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Mar 24, 2017 Casia Courtier rated it really liked it

After listening to the first book in the Spells, Swords and Stealth series, I jumped into buying the second one. I did listen to a few other books before jumping into this audiobook and I am glad for the wait . . . kind of.

I mean, is it great that I waited only to want to jump into the third book (I haven't . . . yet). I had a serious bout of audiobook hangover. I wanted to read another fantasy right away, but I didn't want to pursue the third book because there isn't another one out there yet. After listening to the first book in the Spells, Swords and Stealth series, I jumped into buying the second one. I did listen to a few other books before jumping into this audiobook and I am glad for the wait . . . kind of.

I mean, is it great that I waited only to want to jump into the third book (I haven't . . . yet). I had a serious bout of audiobook hangover. I wanted to read another fantasy right away, but I didn't want to pursue the third book because there isn't another one out there yet. I'm not ready to leave the characters or waiting for their story to continue.

Split the Party begins where the first book ends. Our heroes are on the lam and are in a new country. In our reality, the gamers are setting up a new game set in the same country. The gamers decide on one route while our heroes go through another.

As I was listening, I was wondering how the heroes will meet up with the other group in the book and was surprised by that outcome. It makes sense how Hayes does it and it leads onto more questions needing answers for the later books.
For our heroes, something happens to a small town they decide to venture into. Due to Paladin issues, the party has to split up. One side goes for help while the others wait and see what the mystery is with the town.

You get to see more about the world and the dynamics of a mage guild as well as see more crazy ideas from the party members. I was hanging off the edge of my seat during many scenes (Grumph's trial is a good one). The ending is definitely no exception.

I found myself almost to tears screaming at a character's decision. Whereas I know where he was coming from, my heart jerked at this moment.

There is some secondary characters who seem more than what they appear. Fritz, the traveling merchant, is one of those characters. She is a merchant, but has an uncanny ability to see the potential in people. Just who is she really? It's just another question that will be left open for future books.

There is one book left, but I'm not sure if it is the last or not. Just that right now, there are only three in the series. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold myself back before I listen to it. I already bought it. ...more

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Sep 28, 2017 Graham Bennett rated it it was amazing

This is a wonderful followup to NPCs. If you’ve ever played D&D, or any D&D-like tabletop roleplaying game, you’ll probably enjoy these books. They are the novel equivalent of a summer action movie — entertaining and fun above all else. That said, there are some emotional moments, primarily whenever Thistle is remembering something from his past. Those moments caught me off guard in the absolute best way. As a 30-something who is focused on his marriage, Thistle’s story really resonates This is a wonderful followup to NPCs. If you’ve ever played D&D, or any D&D-like tabletop roleplaying game, you’ll probably enjoy these books. They are the novel equivalent of a summer action movie — entertaining and fun above all else. That said, there are some emotional moments, primarily whenever Thistle is remembering something from his past. Those moments caught me off guard in the absolute best way. As a 30-something who is focused on his marriage, Thistle’s story really resonates with me and I find myself rooting for that little guy so hard. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve always had a soft spot for gnomes.

I like to read multiple books at once these days, generally in multiple formats. I’ve handled this series in audio and the narrator is excellent. At the same time as I’ve been listening to NPCs and Split the Party, I’ve also been poking my way through The Sword of Shannara as my Kindle e-book. I find the contrast between the two shocking. Both are fantasies set in worlds that have become fairly commonplace in the genre, they contain larger-than-life characters and set pieces, and the narrative style is fairly verbose. That said, I find Split the Party endearing for these reasons while they work against my immersion in The Sword of Shannara. I think it comes down to a matter of self-awareness. Split the Party knows it’s cheesy. That’s what it promised and holy cow does it deliver! Seriously, check it out (but do yourself a favor and start with NPCs).

In all fairness to the Shannara series, I’m still pretty early on in book one. I don’t doubt that it picks up and I’m sure the later books in the series are significantly better because Terry Brooks no doubt grew a lot as a writer over the years. The first impression, though, has not aged well if you’re reading it without rose-tinted nostalgia goggles.

...which is why you should keep putting off getting into the Shannara series and pick up NPCs and Split the Party. I have Going Rogue queued up next on my iPod and I can’t wait to dive in. ...more

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Jun 21, 2017 Adrienne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

After we finished NPCs (the first book in the Spells, Swords, & Stealth series), Split the Party was an immediate purchase. It did not disappoint either, as it built upon the world and characters laid out previously and continued to flesh them out.

The story this time follows our band of former NPCs as they investigate a mysterious illness in the town of Briarwillow, only to find out a much more nefarious plot is at work. They have no choice but to split up in order to overcome the new obstac ...more

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Aug 01, 2017 Brendan rated it really liked it

Another solid, straightforward, RPG campaign with steady NPC's cum Adventurers has your main heroes instead of insane players "ruining" the game. Which I think is (I'm already onto book 3) one of the themes being developed - basically a D&D campaign but part of it was run by AI's - has players make sub-omptimal choices along the way the 'slow and steady' AI would basically slog through the campaign to handle what happens. Or, as I started with, this book is almost masturbatory - that is a DM ...more

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Dec 12, 2017 Synia rated it it was amazing

This one is a really solid read, just like the first one. Although it lacks the novelty of the original NPCs premise and forgot it was an adventure-comedy at some point, what replaces the jokes is a surprisingly touching tale about good versus evil and power versus exploitation. I remember actually holding my breath when the secret behind the Paladin's dreams was unraveled. Even though it's been a few weeks, I still sometimes pause and think of certain passages in my mind.

Most of this one revol ...more

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Mar 06, 2018 Deanna Lack rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 14, 2018 Andy Simmons rated it it was amazing

This is a surprisingly good book. I assumed that it would be weaker than the first book in the series as that one set up the concept of the minions becoming player characters. I was wrong. If anything, this is a better book.

I won’t write about the plot of the book but the characters are caught up in a very interesting story whilst the “real world” group continue their adventures. The main plot is excellent and the characters involved are all marvellous. Grumph really comes into his own as a magi ...more

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Aug 02, 2018 Nella rated it really liked it

Shelves: high-fantasy

These books continue to be leagues more delightful than they have any right to be. Hayes continues to to introduce what could easily be (and in most other works usually are) boring and done and slightly offensive, and just has fun with it instead. In this book there is, for example, a female character introduced who was kind of mean, and I feared that she was going to turn into a stereotypical bitchy and demonised character, for god forbidd girls are anything other and nice. But she isn't! She's ...more

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Mar 18, 2018 Raymond rated it liked it

Giving it a slightly lower rating than book 1 or 3 for this simple reason. It was unnecessary. I actually accidentally listened to book 1 and then book 3. In book 3 I just felt like I had missed some small random adventure, and a pig, but that was it. I really thought it was a device of the author to just say they had done other stuff as well, but we don't need to know the details. Then when looking for what I thought would be book 3 I realized my mistake.

In the series, you can easily skip book ...more

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Mar 11, 2018 Lundos rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

More 'normal' fantasy quest book - even with the weirdly set up 'NPC' party. It's still clattered with a tongue in cheek pen & paper D&D humor and with some pretty fun ideas - including a curse that makes people energetic and happy (view spoiler), a fire with no light or smoke, a magically cart (car), and the entire Magic Guild (view spoiler).

The introduction of Fritz and that entire story ...more

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Aug 16, 2018 Matthew rated it liked it · review of another edition

Honestly, this is a textbook case of a 3 star book. There isn’t anything bad about it, per se, but there also isn’t anything great about.

How do I put this, basically there is a solid story here, there are good ideas that are executed adequately. The characters and setting are relatable and interesting. It’s just that all of it is like it’s checked off a list rather than explored and experienced. This would all have been fine if it had the humor that NPCs had and Hayes is capable of, but straight ...more

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Spells, Swords, & Stealth (4 books)

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Quotes from Split the Party

“Not every situation has a perfect solution; often, you just have to take your pick from the array of poor choices spread out before you.” — 0 likes

“Bandit or demon, human or beast, none of it made any difference. The bandits had made this a situation of predators and prey. Only living mattered. Everything else was nothing more than an afterthought.” — 0 likes

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Split the Party

(Spells, Swords, & Stealth #2)

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