Return of the Damned

I'll try to be objective with this review, but I admit I had to force myself to finish it, so it'll definitely end up as a rant of sorts.

In short, my impression of this book is that unless you like observing a poor DM with little common sense run a D&D session, I would recommend you skip this book.

The good thing about this story is that there's plenty of over-the-top action, with a little bit of a plot about conspiacy and revenge thrown in. It's supposed to be a sequel of sorts to City of Fire, but I didn't read that book so no odea how well it ties in.

The bad about the book, is also the action - it's really all there is. There's zero character development aside from their banter during and after fights, with the exception of Regdar pining after Naull. The plot is very linear and I'd say that the chapters between the prologue and the final few chapters were completely pointless, from the perspective pf the villain. The plot points and obvious RPG “random encounters” all serve to give a very nonsensical plot and ridiculous situations.

One last nitpick before I elaborate on the specifics: the book has some really odd names.... Clemf, Krunk, and get this - a demon lord named..... Jalie Squarefoot.... rolleyes

Warning: Minor spoilers below...

I'll limit myself to just 5 points as examples of why I feel the story is very bad (I've already wasted enough time writing this review).

* The whole part about Regdar chasing after the cultists was pointless. The villain Lindroos wants a magic bottle. Regdar's duke has the bottle. Lindroos has Regdar's girlfriend. The logical thing to do is get Regdar to get the bottle. Nope, she lures Regdar emptyhanded instead.. Close to the end, Lindroos was suddenly revealed to actually have army that outnumbers the Duke's garrison. The obvious thing to do is to attack the city immediately. Nope, Lindroos tries to kill Regdar first.

* The power level is inconsistent. Sometimes the party is hewing down opponents left and right, yet sometimes they struggle against individual foes. Funny thing is, everytime the villain is about to win, she calls it off and retreats! She doesn't seem bothered about losing hundreds of men trying to kill just 4. Another funny thing is, a party of less than a dozen managed to cut their way from the backlines of thousands of invaders all the way the frontline of defense

* Tactical common sense (the lack of it). Nobody charges out of a well-barricaded fort entryway to go attack a foe that outnumbers you 10 to 1. No castle defender patiently waits in their assigned room for your party to arrive. No army will fight a siege by stationing troops outside of the walls. No army sieges without siege weapons. And no army will win if their defensive lines are all broken and the enemy outnumbers them several times.

* Convenience plot points. In D&D, teleportation into an unknown location is very difficult and very risky. But 3 paladins and 1 cleric managed to teleport right into a room in the middle of a secret keep at the foot of a mountain right inside a swamp. Oh, and the teleport range is over a distance that requires a week's travel. How Lindroos was able to command jann is not explained. How she managed to hide several thousand soldiers/cultists is also ignored. What happened the remainder of the invaders was also conveniently skipped.

* Using the same joke or exaggeration multiple times. Striking at a rope thinking it's an eel or a snake. Swinging your weapon so hard that your feet actually lifs off the ground (too much cartoon?). Genie wish jokes. Regdar almost dying and then saved by friend and the magically healed - so many times it's almost as if he gets hurt just so you can rad about who saved and healed him next.