The story continues…
Creative Staff
By Critical Role, Jess Barber, Martin Cahill, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Aabria Iyengar, Sam Maggs, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Rory Power, Nibedita Sen, Izzy Wasserstein and Kendra Wells
Foreword by Liam O’Brien
What They Say
In these ten stories, see the legendary adventuring party anew through the eyes of some of the most memorable characters whose lives were touched by Vox Machina.
Within its pages:
• Shaun Gilmore reflects on the life he has chosen, as told by Aabria Iyengar.
• Raishan, racked by a pestilent curse, plots to release the Cinder King from his fiery prison, as told by Rory Power.
• Trinket the Wonder Bear accompanies the next generation of Vox Machina on their first adventure, as told by Sarah Glenn Marsh.
• Plus seven more hilarious, heartbreaking, and heroic tales featuring Kaylie, Doty, Kevdak, and more!
The adventure began in 2015 with a group of friends sitting down in front of a camera to roll some dice, bring their characters to life, and tell a story that would become immortalized in their livestream tabletop roleplaying game: Critical Role. What started as a humble home game eventually grew into a worldwide phenomenon that has touched countless people with its poignant, larger-than-life storytelling—and in that same vein, this collection celebrates the characters whose lives were touched by Vox Machina but whose stories are yet to be told.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I’ve always enjoyed a good fantasy anthology. As a teen I used to eagerly scour the shelves of Walden Books for the latest Martin H. Greenberg edited fantasy collection, enjoying bite-sized stories that were easy to portion out in before-bed reads.
As an adult, ten years ago now, I also used to stay up late on Thursdays watching the live play session of Vox Machina with the rest of the Critters on Twitch. We are far removed from those early days of the Critical Role crew. They have become a media juggernaut breaking free from the confines of just live plays and delving deep into storytelling of all sorts. However, the sense of a shared universe of players telling stories remains and I can’t think of a property more deserving of a fantasy anthology than the tales of Vox Machina.
This anthology features both friends of Critical Role and fans of Critical Role. Some of those names will be familiar as frequent collaborators while others are sure to become so. The novel follows the original story as it was told in the tabletop campaign. In the comics and cartoon, many details were changed for those adaptations, but this is firmly following the original cannon. Some species names have been altered to remove them from the Dungeons & Dragons copyright, but this is for OG fans.
So that’s my main warning for those coming to this collection from the cartoon show. Not to mention these stories range from before the events of the campaign to long after, with all the events spoiled. That places this collection into a niche that might alienate those who came late to the story or those without the time to dig through the hundreds of hours of the original livestream.
The book blurb only mentions some of the characters featured in the story, so I will list out the rest: The Sun Tree, Kaylie Shorthalt, Raishan, Craven Edge, Tary & Doty, Kevdak, Kima & Allura, Kynan Leore, Gilmore, and Trinket & friends.
Some of these side characters are obvious choices for a story, like Raishan, Tary, and Kima. I would not expect someone to focus on the Sun Tree or Kynan, because despite their importance to the plot they are third or fourth-tier.
About halfway through the anthology the Craven Edge story by Kendra Wells serves as an intermission of sorts, as it is a comic. (It is also delightful considering the other two villains who have their own stories come across as bitter and violent, unsympathetic, and deserving of their fates. Craven Edge is well… a sword.) Not that these stories need to be read in order. That’s the nice thing about collections. You can jump around depending on your mood.
Of the stories featured my favorites were probably the ones focused on Kaylie and Trinket. “The Exploits of Kaylie”, penned by Izzy Wasserstein, fleshes out Scanlon’s daughter with care and depth I wasn’t expecting. “Going on a Bear Hunt” by Sarah Glenn Marsh manages to create a daring standalone adventure with pint-sized adventurers who actually feel like the kids of heroes. Not to mention their grumpy older bear babysitter. (HE HAS WORD BUTTONS! Like those pets on Youtube! Percy made him talking WORD BUTTONS! That’s hilarious and brilliant and silly, and I love it.) It is certainly a high point to end the collection on.
Those are just my favorites though, and I’m certain that every reader will have different favorites in this collection. For example, romance ain’t really my thing but there are plenty of stories inside focusing at least partially on that. Likewise, the violent plotting of Raishan and Kevdak will appeal to the grim-dark folks. All of the authors are excellent storytellers. The characters feel true to form and the setting. I hope this does well enough so that we might get a Mighty Nein Stories Untold.
The physical edition of this anthology comes at a smaller trim size than the other hard-cover Critical Role novels released under the Del Rey imprint. Which is my only complaint about this collection, the trim size. Also, I don’t know why the other books were under the Del Rey imprint and not Worlds… publishing is weird sometimes.
Full disclosure: The review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. That’s not unusual, that’s how our website works for the majority of the material we review. What is unusual is that it came in a press kit loaded with Critical Role swag. My cat appreciates the box and dice, thanks Random House.
In Summary
From vicious and cunning dragons, loves lost and found, and one beleaguered bear, this anthology runs the gamut of characters and emotions from the side characters of Vox Machina. Fans of the first campaign of Critical Role will find at least one story in this collection that will speak to them. This is the great thing about anthologies, there is always another story on the horizon. Another missing scene, another epilog, another brief moment to revisit old friends. Which is why this is probably my favorite of the Critical Role novels yet.
Content Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Released By: Random House Worlds
Release Date: March 3, 2025
MSRP: Hardcover US: $30.00 CAN: $39.99
