Matt Forbeck

This is a fun, choose-you-own adventure–style book that will introduce readers in grades three to six to D&D questing (or provide an adventure between games for those already playing). It's colourful and inviting in its physical presentation, and the voice is spot-on from the very first page. I also notice that D&D is a little more inclusive than it was when I was the age of the intended reader of this book.

The series is a smart extension of a brand that's undergoing a revival. If a reader show more enjoyed this title, there are more to explore. A great pick as a gift for an elementary-aged gamer. show less

This is one of the most boring fantasy novels I have ever read. I think my main problem was that I just couldn't bring myself to care about the main characters at all. They are college students of the "I don't really care about anything but partying" category, who try to rip off a casino and get caught. They don't have the brains to realize that if magic is real,then someone would have already tried it and the casino's would be prepared. They are warned to get out of town, but are too stupid show more to listen. Then the bad guys try to kill them, the hero gets reunited with his estranged father, and he tries to get them out of town. Of course the bad guys capture them, but since they take our heroes out partying, all is forgiven and the morons still don't have the brains to get out of town.

If I can't bring myself to care about the characters, then I can't really care about the book either. show less

At first I was all "I wonder if it's a good thing or a bad thing when novels written for thirteen-year-olds come out like they were written BY thirteen-year-olds," but on closer investigation this is apparently not a YA book! It's intended for adults, which knocks me back a bit bemused on my heels. Luckily, the other reviewers have done a flawless job summarizing the dispiriting and occasionally troubling hackery on display here, so just a few supplementary points:

-in the first chapter the show more one guy confines his friend at gunpoint, Russian roulette style with the squeezing the trigger and the stale tension, and the friend's response isn't along the lines of "Are you insane"? but (actual quote) "You suck, man." Could anything be more teenagery?
-The rules of blackjack are explained at length (two pages), as are those of stud poker. Only for Forbeck it's Blackjack, Poker, Craps, and Sundrie Other Capitalls like it's 1723 in Lady Montagu's salon.
-Forbeck likes to lie to us by showing us cool guys (his idea of what a cool guy is has a lot to do with fist bumps, bad sideburns, mall clothes, and calling each other "brother") being into the same shit he's into (Fatboy Slim, Magic: The Gathering) in order to (illegitimately; one also assumes unsuccesfully) raise his own cultural capital
-(on Magic, the part where he tries to make it cool by namedropping a bunch of competitive Magic players who made the jump to the so-sexy world of tournament poker is a true low point in the culture)
-The love interest is called "Powaqa Strega" or "Powi"; she is half-Italian and half-"Hopi Indian"; she is a "medicine man," which Forbeck thinks means she sexily heals her golden-boy boyfriend. So masturbatory and pathetic.
-everyone's favourite expletive is "damned," which to my mind is one step above "curses"
-everything everyone else says below about how shitty this book is is true, but let me leave you with a taste: "He looked like he should have a Mexican accent, but when he spoke he sounded like he came from New York a long time ago instead." That's an actual quote too. show less

As someone rather invested in Waterdeep as a writer (2 novels, several game supplements) and reader (everything), I was skeptical that Matt Forbeck could make me feel like I was in MY City of Splendors. I'm very glad to say I was wrong and this book swept me along the fog-shrouded streets of the Realms' most fabled of cities.

Matt's characters and scenarios and backdrops are always evocative and draw the reader into the story almost immediately. As someone rather picky about how Forgotten show more Realms books feel/sound to me, I'm happy to say this book is among the most fun reads I've had in Waterdeep in a long time.

Alas, the Netgalley copy I received for a review failed to allow the branching choices to alter the narrative flow while I read this on my Kindle, so I can't comment on the choose-a-path nature of the story. show less