In the foreboding north, the demonic hordes of the magic-twisted hellscape known as the Worldwound encroach upon the southern kingdoms of Golarion. Their latest escalation embroils a preternaturally handsome and coolly charismatic swindler named Gad, who decides to assemble a team of thieves, cutthroats, and con-men to take the fight into the demon lands and strike directly at the fiendish leader responsible for the latest raids—the demon Yath, the Shimmering Putrescence. Can Gad hold his team together long enough to pull off the ultimate con, or will trouble from within his own organization lead to an untimely end for them all?
From gaming legend and popular author Robin D. Laws comes a fantastic new adventure of swords and sorcery, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
This is the first Pathfinder novel that I have read, and found it surprisingly good. I generally have not been a fan of RPG novels; those I've read in the past have seemed to be overly concerned about game mechanics. This wasn't the case here. While there were some bids to game mechanics, that didn't overwhelm a story that had good description work and created a higher target for how a GM might present content. Character development may not be up to par in comparison to a mainstream art novel, but all in all was a nice yarn.
The Worldwound Gambit was a surprise read, if you read some of the reviews you would be apprehensive to say the least.
I found the characters to really gel with each other and to be a believable group of adventurers. It really read as a group who have been through a lot and they take you along on this rip.
The story had great pacing , never boring. I have found some of the books to be heavy on excitement at the start, then bog down a bit, but not this one.
The way it is written to take place in the present only took me like a chapter to get used to then the story took over and was unnoticeable. I do find some of the reviews really made this sound like a problem ,but it really isn't.
So far I have read the books in order of release date and this one if not the best is right up there. I give it four stars only as five would be a perfect read.
I've been eagerly devouring Pathfinder Tales novels for the last several months, and have enjoyed most, but if you're thinking of picking this one up, don't. The problem has already been stated before. It is writing 101 that you do not use passive voice in a work of long fiction. You particularly should not write the whole novel in passive voice. I frankly expect more from Paizo when it comes to choosing authors.
This book comes across to me as pantomime taken to a macabre level. There is witty banter amongst the protagonists. There is slapstick comedy and farcical fight scenes where the heroes defy the odds and win as the bad guys step on metaphorical banana skins. There are melodramatic moments of doubt. The heroes swagger. The villains are sadistic and have a cunning plan for domination of their little slice of the world - which is remarkably ineffectual in the face of the heroes' even more cunning counter-plan (which goes off without a hitch). The only significant casualties at the end of the day are the bad guys and a couple of bit-part characters whose demises are there to emphasise how horribly sadistic the bad guys actually are; everyone else goes home to their respective rewards and with the world safe yet again.
Give or take the odd editing howler in the first edition, it came across to me as solidly written, but I would caution that it might annoy readers looking for something 'serious' and/or unprepared to put aside suspension of disbelief for several hours.
This is my co-favorite amongst the Pathfinder Tales novels I've read so far (tied with Prince of Wolves). The second person tense took some getting used to, but after a few pages it was fine. Maybe having read Stross's Halting State helped.
I'd love to see some of the characters return, though I would be okay if they returned in the third person.
