I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Descent: Journeys in the Dark book The Raiders of Bloodwood by Davide Mana, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What’s is Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Simply put Descent: Journeys in the Dark is good old fashioned dungeon crawler whose linage goes all the way back to Heroquest.

Based very much on the Doom board game published by Fantasy Flight Games, you can see influences from across the gaming hobby, with bits from Space Hulk and Lord of the Rings being identifiable.

It’s set in the world of Terrinoth, a setting shared with Runewars, Runeage and a few other games and RPGs published by Fantasty Flight Games.

It’s a high fantasy universe and you will recognise many of the tropes and races seen in other similar fantasy style settings. It’s not particularly unique, but it is fairly well developed and interesting.

Descent is the dungeon crawler game in that universe, with one player being the evil overlord of the dungeon and the others taking in the roles of the hero’s.

For a dungeon crawler, let’s be honest it’s one of the best out there, and the only reason it’s not in my collection is that Lindsay and Megan aren’t as enthusiastic about high fantasy as I am!

The Story
In this epic tale, the Uthuk Y’llan are sweeping across the realms of Terrinoth, killing, burning and destroying all in their path.

This demonic powered horde of killers is lead by a murderous Beastmaster, who has a plan, a plan to take the forest of Bloodwood and control the mysterious source of power at its heart, so that he can destroy Terrinoth and bring all the world under his control.

But fleeing the destruction of their home city, a pair of humans, an orc and a catfolk, band together, and with the aid of an elven hunter, are thrust into an adventure to save the Bloodwood and by extension the world.

Traveling from the world they know, into the realms of the elves, this misfit band, will see wonders and horrors, and have to dig deep into themselves and fight the monsters that are the Uthuk Y’llan.

Conculsuion
This is a classic, adventure story, the kind of adventure you no doubt have played around a table with D20s with bottles of Pepsi and bowls of Wotsits as a nipper!

And that is why this story is so good, because it just hits that sweet spot of nostalgia and with fantastic writing, it really brings to life the words on the page. I really did feel pulled into the story and found myself putting off sleep to just read another chapter!

The characters, get quite a bit of padding out, with perhaps not the deepest of backstories, but enough so that you get a real feel for them.

Whilst the synopsis talks about them having to overcome their differences, I found that they seemed to become friends rather quickly, helping each other and being comrades to people they met when thrown in the mud together.

They only briefly feel safe, and the story moves along at a brisk pace, just like your RPG sessions.

The characters are all really interesting, but I did finds myself enjoying the elderly teacher Emery most, his almost childlike wonder, as for the first time in his life he finds himself travelling in the wild and seeing things he had only read about in books was really cool.

I really hope we get to meet these characters again.

This is a wonderful book and I am gonna give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

I do worry that some people will see my reviews for Aconyte as overly positive, but to be honest, apart from one stinker, all their books have been amazing!

This is my second Descent novel and again I'm positively surprised at how much I enjoyed myself. I'll for sure read the other ones and the two new upcoming novels are already on my radar.

The characters were an interesting bunch, different races, ages and backgrounds. Standard plot, but great pacing and action scenes.

Perfect fantasy standalones if you're looking for a lighter fantasy palate cleanser.

I'm really looking forward to many more Descent novels 🙂

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks, Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
Typical beginning for most fantasy stories, but definitely one I love - the beginning of the end, the darkness swallowing the light, the destruction slowly but surely destroying the peace. The main characters meet and unite in the middle of chaotic events for all of them. There;s a;ways this tension looming over their union, their deepening friendship, and their strive to fight and survive. They are never safe and the reader is left expecting something bad to happen every moment. The narrative succeeds to make this tension visible and felt. There's a perfect balance between action and story development! Definitely a must-read!

Before reading this novel my only experience with Descent Legends of the Dark was the recently released Zachareth book. I was given a taste of this fantasy world, and the kinds of people and creatures that inhabited it, but The Raiders of Bloodwood really expanded that into new, exciting directions as Davide Mana introduced a lot of new things.

The story begins as all dire fantasy stories do, with the forces of darkness having risen to threaten the world. In this case, it's in the form of the vicious Uthuk Y'llan, a horde of monstrous people who have begun to slaughter their way cross the land of Terrinoth. Many have been killed, and those that want to survive have had to flee their homes and lives in order to escape the oncoming threat.

We meet our main group of 'heroes' as part of a refugee caravan, trying to reach what they hope will be the safety of a walled city before the Uthuk Y'llan can catch up with them. The half catfolk, Brixida, is fleeing the home she's been working in as a governess for a rich family, travelling with the family and their closest servants in their carriage. One of these servants is the elderly human scholar Arnost Emery, the children's teacher. The two of them get on well enough, but it's in seeing the casual cruelty of their employers when the carriage breaks own and they abandon them, that really brings the two of them together.

Left on the side of the road, Brix and Emery end up befriending Grimald of Guyot, a merchant forced to pack up what he could salvage from his shop into a small cart. Travelling together along the road, the three of them hep to defend each other when the caravan comes under attack from a group of Uthuk Y'llan raiders. Luckily, they receive some aid in the form of a militiaman orc named Tharadax Tanner, and a mysterious elven ranger called Laurel. After the attack is repelled the survivors agree to continue on along the road to what they hope will be safety; but not everyone thinks its a good idea. Brix, Emery, Grim, and Tanner, decide to go with Lauurel, who's heading to the elven controlled Bloodwood. But little to they know that a vicious Uthuk Y'llan warlord and his small army are heading the same way, and that this small, motley band of survivors will find themselves all that stands between him and total destruction.

The Raiders of Bloodwood is a story that doesn't feel like your normal tale about a group of heroes fighting to stop some kind of apocalypse. The group of heroes for this story aren't warriors for the most part. One of them is a highly trained warrior, yes, but the others are fairly normal people. They have a smattering of training in their pasts, or sometimes none at all, and have simply found themselves thrown into this situation beyond their control. And this makes for a really engaging story. These aren't big, heroic archetypes, they're tired old men, and young women grappling with the pressures her parents put on her. Before this they had normal jobs, and worried about getting their next meal.

The central group of The Raiders of Bloodwood are a lovely bunch though, and the fact that they're mostly just normal people makes their interactions and their journey the real highlight of the story. The small moments when they're travelling together, telling stories around the campfire at night, or helping each other down a steep hill without falling down, make for some of the best moments. Mana gives you a chance to get to know them, to see them as regular people so that you come to like them and care about them; and so that you begin to worry about them when their lives come into danger.

And there is a lot of danger in this book. There's a constant looming threat hanging over our heroes the entire book, and you never really feel that they're safe. There are a few times where you think that they've reached a place that should be safe, where the horde have already been, or where you believe they couldn't possibly reach, so you begin to let your guard down; but these are the moments when it's its most dangerous. When the characters begin to let their guard down is when the worst happens, and they end up fighting for their lives. Mana does a fantastic job at never letting you feel like you can take it easy, or expect safety, but never lets it feel too oppressive or tense.

When things do go badly though, our heroes have to take up arms and defend themselves; and the action scenes are very well done. The descriptions of what's happening are always clear and precise, allowing you to keep track of where everyone is and what's happening. And there are a fair few moments where you find yourself holding your breath for a moment because you become so sucked in to what's happening that you're on the edge of your seat.

The Raiders of Bloodwood has a lot in it to enjoy. Whether you're looking for big, epic fantasy action, scary monsters, awe inspiring sight, or fun, character driven moments, they're all here in spades. It's a book that has a lot of offer, and that can be picked up and enjoyed by someone completely new to the franchise, or a long time fan.

You should know this by now if you follow my reviews but let me just state for those of you who may be new a little bit of housekeeping. Firstly, I was kindly given access to this ARC for review and as always my review is felt voluntarily and is completely honest. Secondly, beyond a few character names and vague outline I never like to spoil full plots in my reviews whether it is an arc or already published. I am happy to discuss more in depth via dms or email. A

I think I should start this by saying two things one this is a tie in based on the Decent games but two you don’t necessary have to have played much or any of the game to enjoy this high octane fantasy novel but obviously it will help.

As with most fantasy and fantasy games we see a handful of heroes standing between a mounting threat. This time in the shape of a monstrous horde of Uthuk Y’llan.

We are thrown right into the action as the synopsis states: “The invasion of Terrinoth has begun. Brutal Uthuk Y’llan hordes swarm across the land, ravaging everything in their path. A great champion has arisen in the Darklands: Beastmaster Th’Uk Tar, bent on destroying the wild and mystical Bloodwood as his first step in conquering the great forests of the Aymhelin and annihilating the elves who call it home. If the Amyhelin burns, so will Terrinoth. Trapped between his army and the forest are a misfit band of elven, orcish, catfolk, and human refugees. To repel the murderous Beastmaster, they must overcome their differences, embrace their skills, and learn the secrets of the Bloodwood. They are the realm’s only hope.”

Davide Mana is brilliant at setting not only the story but the sense of tension and ultimate cruelty and viciousness of the Beastmaster. Our group of heroes as stated are rag-tag and misfits and in many circumstances would not dream of working together but with a threat like the Beastmaster and invading hordes they have no choice for if the forests fall so to will Terrinoth.

As I said before this is where this novel has all the makings of a great fantasy adventure, a misfit group of heroes having to overcome their own differences and mistrust to defeat the evil that threatens all the homelands. You do not need to understand the world of Descent to enjoy this aspect but obviously it does help. Mana’s storytelling is wonderful, they create both tension and suspense in equal measures to engage and keep us hooked. The characters while not all my favourites were all likeable in their own ways and had some interesting arcs throughout. I was personally biased to Brix but anyone who knows me probably saw that coming.

The action is wonderfully described and laced throughout the story. I admire anyone who can write convincing fight scenes and Mana does just that. The final battle was intense but fluid and beautifully written. Another thing I adored was the heroes are injured, their odds are not always good, it isn’t clear they will win and this kept me gripped throughout. Of course this is rather true to the game in that sense but to see it written so well was really rewarding. I also liked the slight potential for a sequel or at least seeing these characters return.

The Raiders of Bloodwood really does deliver. It’s a action packed fantasy novel which will keep you on the edge of your seat. It as all the makes of a good old fantasy adventure, a misfit band of heroes with their own strengths and weaknesses, heart pounding action, and amazing battle scenes with touches and hints of horror along the way. A definite must read for fans and players of the game but for fantasy of fun adventure fantasy like to good old staples of Dragonlance or Warhammer Fantasy universe novels.

The novel will be out in ebook on July 5th with paperbacks following on the 19th July for the US and September 29th for the UK.