Critical Failures is a humorous story drawn from the world of Dungeons and Dragons, or as it is called in this story, Creatures and Caverns. A group of young men find their usual weekly game takes an unusual turn when they are transported into the world of the game and are bound by all the rules that apply there. Bevan's series is a popular one, perhaps because of the niche genre or perhaps because of the humour. The underlying ideas is an interesting one and provides plenty of opportunities for misunderstandings and mayhem, especially as a few of the characters are unfamiliar with the gameworld and the rules that world follows. The humour I found to be a little hit or miss. There is a lot of toilet humour, which didn't particularly work for me, but there are also some sublime moments of banter between the characters, as well as some outright farcical moments, that made me really laugh out loud. Not many books are able to do this with any consistency, so Bevan deserves credit for that. Where I found the story lacking was its depth. The book is a fun read, but I never felt any connection to any of the characters and found their lack of fear of dying in this world of monsters and magic to be a little unbelieable. There are a few moments of shock when they first travel to this new world, but then they very quickly settle into this quite unbelievable situation. True, they are largely bound by circumstances to push forward and not dwell on the moment, but I would have liked to have seen a little more of the emotional impact of very suddenly being ripped from everything you know and thrust into a dangerous world with little chance of ever returning. Of course, while I appreciate that deeper aspect not everyone does, and there is no doubt that such emotional ponderance would have detracted from the quick pace and light tone of the novel. Nonetheless, I feel that some deeper characterisation would have enhanced what is otherwise a quick and fun read.I never played Dungeons and Dragons, so perhaps some of the specific humour didn't work on me as well as it might on someone more versed with this type of world. I also think there is nothing wrong with some toilet humour from time to time, as long as you have something of substance to say behind it, but I was left a little wanting by this story. This is only the first in a series, however, so there may be some more characterisation and development in the later books. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in a humorous read, especially if you have an interest in Dungeons and Dragons, but not to anyone put off by frequent explosive bowel movements (reading about them, I mean...I imagine most people would be put off by the idea of going through that!) If you're not into gaming, typical mid-twenties drunk humor, or shy away from f-bombs you probably shouldn't read this one. But if you said "yes, please!" to all of the above this is certainly a must read and one of the best examples I've found so far of a group of real world people being thrown into their favorite table top game and left to fend for themselves. The now almost necessary components of a typical fantasy setting are all introduced here such as elves, halflings, orcs, etc. but the humor the author adds along with the ideas each character comes up with in different situations gives a fresh take on the genre and leaves you wondering just what type of character sheet you'd end up with or what you would do in each character's situation as the story progresses. The Kindle edition could definitely use another go around with the editing process but other than that I can't find much to gripe about and am looking forward to Mr. Bevan's additions to the series.
What do You think about Critical Failures (2012)?
stupid and fun. Anyone who has played a fantasy role playing game will appreciate the humor
—Cat
So silly, but I couldn't stop reading. Kinda like cheetos.
—porchman2
