Review: “Auroboros – Under the Sun”

The first novel about the new D&D universe.

content (propaganda)

It should be a simple mission: find a group of missing teens and bring those responsible to justice! But when the mission fails tragically, high elf mage Xamus Frood and his gang of powerful mercenaries find themselves at odds with Rechtbrand’s powers. In their desperate escape, these rough-and-tumble outlaws find unexpected allies in the form of a drunken troll and a vain human poet. Always one step ahead of the law and pursued by a mysterious vampire organization, they do battle against the Children of the Sun, a powerful new sect bent on overthrowing the ruling Rechtbrand Church and purging merchant cities with fire. They have no idea that there is a road full of personal sacrifices and fateful encounters ahead of them. At the end of their journey lies a struggle with a primordial being who stands at the same time at the beginning as at the end of creation…

criticism

After The World Book, Under the Sun is the first novel about the new D&D universe Auroboros. Retelling of a campaign from the 90s that Chris Metzen played with his friends. The first story, so to speak, is now in novel form.

And with this introductory sentence, the whole problem of this book is immediately revealed. Unfortunately, one notes, this is exactly what it is: a retelling that feels more like juxtaposition. I had just read the aforementioned world book before this one, which is why the places were still so familiar to me. For those who might just be reading the novel, this may weaken a bit as a result, but the book’s other weaknesses, which we’ll get to in a moment, can be noticed there as well.

In terms of places, unfortunately, the impression is quickly given that one is simply ticking off a checklist. In theory, you could put the World Book next to it and trace the journey of the four (now five) companions. If you know the background, you know the opposite is true. At the time, the group led by Chris Metzen created their own universe for this very game, only to actually implement it nearly 30 years later. You can see that in the almost complete lack of female characters here. Not that this would be a point of criticism, the novel is a product of that time and the strong female characters were not in the spotlight as they are today. This is an all-male squad that comes with testosterone power. I didn’t want to leave that unstated at this point, without giving too much importance to these details.

But even if you also knew this background, the novel wouldn’t get any better. To make it clear what I mean, I will now give a plot summary. It’s not completely devoid of spoilers, so if you still want to read the book, you might want to skip a few paragraphs. summarized without any pretension to completeness.

The novel begins with the heroes meeting in a tavern, or they are all hired for the same job: to bring back two young men who have been kidnapped by the Children of the Sun. On your way, you’ll pick up a couple more heroes who happen to be involved or have a similar goal. The liberation was successful, but because you failed to kill the evil cultist, you are immediately sent to do it again. It is also done quickly, but when you return, the client is dealt with by the Inquisition … er, holy individuals, and the heroes are blamed. It’s a good thing that this all happens in less than 100 pages and would actually be a good starting point for the story.

Now is the time to wash the names and stop sun worship. To do this, go straight to the priest’s shelter in the forest. However, a vision leads the group outside again, as they want to go to the Poet’s Festival.

There you participate in the activities of local criminals, go to their headquarters (as shown on the maps in the World Book), meet monks, and kill leaders. We return to the jungle, after another vision we go to the desert. And because you’ve always wanted to take part in the big race in Lietsin, you do so right away (and win, of course) – which concludes the next stop in the World Book. Then you get captured by the Children of the Sun and because you don’t want to join them, you are locked away. Then you break out, visit a drow (next stop), travel to dwarves and remove a tyrant there (next stop in the book written) until you travel to the ancient origins of Sularia, after meeting the talking animals, find one for those responsible for the storm at that time, undead, they do That’s two pages in, and they go back to the talking animals, who help defend it. Then it’s up to you to stop the Children of the Sun, who are walking at the time. He quickly convinces the hostile group of their leader Eisenberg’s deceitful intentions with a speech, before moving on to the last stop in the World Book: Faionas, home of the elves (and we thought we’d forgotten about that). After picking up the tags there, we move on to the obligatory final battle, which, like all battles in this book, is dealt with in just a few pages.

Yes, unfortunately the summary looks as boring as the book. This is also due to the fact that characters only get a small profile. Yes, they make fun of each other in typical male fashion, but little is known about their motivations and backgrounds. Except for Nicholas, but he died quickly. The only character who evokes feelings and sympathy in the reader crosses the Jordan River. On the one hand, it’s good and unexpected if not all heroes survive, but here you chose the wrong path.

Only a few sentences are spoken between locations before the heroes reach their destination, sometimes hundreds of kilometers away. Sure, you don’t need the obligatory banditry raids at this point, but actually excursions like this are always good for bringing the reader closer to the characters. Unfortunately, this is completely absent here.

However, it is good that the world does not remain in the status quo. Here criminal leaders are hunted down or cities are wiped out. So you should read the World Book beforehand, because the world is a little different after that – and the well-developed campaign world is still my favourite, even if it obviously borders on your own adventures. But then there are adventure books here – but I digress.

In the end, which is also a huge spoiler, it doesn’t end well for our warriors… even if it happens unsurprisingly a little (!) a page before the end of the book. Then the villain gets eliminated too – and just like with the heroes, a lot of potential was wasted there as well. After all, the annual accounts have risen more than one year, so we are no longer in the year 250 as in the World Book, but at the end of the novel in the year 252. Enough air to fill the void with your own adventures.