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A review by wart
The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Club by Doug Henderson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
DNF at 46%
I really wanted to like this one. I am queer and I play D&D so I was super excited about it!
Unfortunately it fell really short for me. One of the first signs that this book and I weren't going to get along was when the narration dead named the trans character, but I see that a lot with Cis authors so I was like if that's the only time/the worst thing, then I can deal...
But unfortunately there were just a lot of things with this book that didn't work for me.
For one thing, none of the characters felt like they had any real depth. Part of this might have been because there were so many, but even Ben, who I feel like we spent the most time with in the half of the book I made it through, didn't feel really all that developed. They all felt like archetypes rather than fully created characters. Also they all just really annoyed me.
Another thing that frustrated me was a lot of the dialogue felt unnatural. There's some great writing in this book, some really good descriptions when setting the scene that truly bring things to life, but the dialogue was often awkward and didn't feel like how people really talk. Also some of the writing in other sections felt like a completely different style to those scene setting bits and it was very jarring.
The last thing that frustrated me was the D&D itself. Speaking only as someone who plays, not as someone who has ever been a DM, I felt like Celeste wasn't really the best about DMing. I also found it weird when they let Huey join them in the middle of a battle?? Like that is a lot of information to throw at a first time player and I feel like "why don't you watch for a bit and if you're still interested we can work on a character/how to introduce them next session?" makes way more sense.
I don't know. This book just didn't feel fully formed to me. It was a lot of ideas thrown together and none of them really felt like they got the proper attention.
DNF at 46%
I really wanted to like this one. I am queer and I play D&D so I was super excited about it!
Unfortunately it fell really short for me. One of the first signs that this book and I weren't going to get along was when the narration dead named the trans character, but I see that a lot with Cis authors so I was like if that's the only time/the worst thing, then I can deal...
But unfortunately there were just a lot of things with this book that didn't work for me.
For one thing, none of the characters felt like they had any real depth. Part of this might have been because there were so many, but even Ben, who I feel like we spent the most time with in the half of the book I made it through, didn't feel really all that developed. They all felt like archetypes rather than fully created characters. Also they all just really annoyed me.
Another thing that frustrated me was a lot of the dialogue felt unnatural. There's some great writing in this book, some really good descriptions when setting the scene that truly bring things to life, but the dialogue was often awkward and didn't feel like how people really talk. Also some of the writing in other sections felt like a completely different style to those scene setting bits and it was very jarring.
The last thing that frustrated me was the D&D itself. Speaking only as someone who plays, not as someone who has ever been a DM, I felt like Celeste wasn't really the best about DMing. I also found it weird when they let Huey join them in the middle of a battle?? Like that is a lot of information to throw at a first time player and I feel like "why don't you watch for a bit and if you're still interested we can work on a character/how to introduce them next session?" makes way more sense.
I don't know. This book just didn't feel fully formed to me. It was a lot of ideas thrown together and none of them really felt like they got the proper attention.