The Super Powered Fancast

Critical Role: Vox Machina: Stories Untold

Penguin Random House

The world of Exandria is filled with stories and the heroes of Vox Machina have touched the lives of many on their adventures. Stories Untold expands on the lives of those characters and how their journeys and lives have been touched either directly or indirectly by the adventuring party.

As a fan of Critical Role, I purchased my hardcover version of the book to read the stories, but I also purchased the audiobook version as well. It made sense to me since the world of Critical Role was created by a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors and hearing these stories told by these amazing performers was a no brainer for me.

Under Golden Boughs

Written by Martin Cahill

Read by Taliesin Jaffe

After being planted at the base of the Alabaster Sierra mountains by the Dawn Father, the entity known as the Sun Tree recounts moments of discovery both for itself and the world around it. As it grows and thrives after the Calamity, the Sun Tree makes discoveries about the people that come to the valley and decide to settle, including the De Rolo family. As Whitestone grows and thrives, the Sun Tree grows along with it until a time of darkness comes to the land and the Sun Tree can only bear witness to the destruction and death of the Briarwoods.

Cahill’s opening story is perfectly placed because it is all about creation, discovery and life. It is a beautifully rich and engaging story of the passage of time and how life endures both the lightest and darkest of moments of existence. Taliesin delivers the story with a wonderfully soft and compelling cadence that makes the character of the Sun Tree into something tangible in its emotional journey.

The Exploits of Kaylie (Volume 1)

Written by Izzy Wasserstein

Read by Sam Riegel

Kaylie is nothing like her father Scanlan Shorthalt. Sure, she has his talent for music, schemes and charming those around her, but she is nothing like him. As she learns more about him and discovers more about herself, Kaylie will decide to take to the road to explore the world outside of Kymal. A world where she will discover that she might be more like Scanlan than she thought. A revelation that will lead her on a personal mission to track him down.

Wasserstein does a fantastic job of crafting a story of a character fighting so hard against her own perceived nature that she ends up mirroring it in different and disturbing ways. Having the story told from journals Kaylie is keeping herself as she gets older was a great narrative touch and it showcases how the character changes in some ways and reverts in others. Sam Riegel brilliantly captures the emotional duality of Kaylie in the story as she struggles with the legacy of Scanlan and her ever-growing animus towards him.

Liar

Written by Rory Power

Read by Marisha Ray

Raishan is an experienced liar. Something the Fire Ashari will learn the hard way as she has them fooled into thinking she is a young girl in the village for training. As she learns the ways of the Ashari, she continues to be plagued not only by the curse placed on her by the Wild Mother, but also dreams of the people she killed. Raishan is undeterred as she continues to plot and plan with the other dragons of the Chroma Conclave to free their leader Thordak from the Fire Plane. A mission that will become more dangerous as she deals with ambitious allies, the unexpected arrival of Vox Machina and Thordak’s growing madness.

Power crafts a dark and thrilling story that brilliantly builds on moments of tension between Raishan and the other characters within the story. There are so many great moments where plans could fail, but Raishan’s cunning always finds a way to help her. Power also does a great job of expanding on the curse by showing that it causes more than just physical damage, but emotional damage as well. Marisha Ray brings out the cool, cunning nature of the character in her performance and transported me into the dark, unrepentant mind of this character.

The Edge of Gory

Written by Kendra Wells

Read by Matthew Mercer, Travis Willingham, Ashley Johnson and Sam Riegel

Craven Edge has a new master and the sentient blade is not happy about it. As it finds itself in the hands of Grog, Craven Edge laments its symbiotic relationship with its previous owner Sylas Briarwood. As it tries to appeal to Grog’s violent tendencies and prowess in battle, its hunger becomes insatiable and it decides that if its new wielder will not give it what it needs, it will take it from him.

Wells crafts what should be a dark and disturbing moment for the characters into a highly comical vignette as Grog’s personality frustrates the sword at every turn. Having Matt and Travis verbally spar as Craven Edge and Grog is an absolute highlight of this story.

Take this Down: Being an Accurate Accounting of Doty and Taryon Darrington in the Basilisk’s Den

Written by Jess Barber

Read by Sam Riegel

Taryon Darrington has set out into the wide world to look for adventure alongside his trusted automaton Doty. As Doty recounts Taryon’s adventures in detail, the nascent adventurer finds himself in the presence of an adventuring party with a problem in a tavern on the Menagerie Coast. A Basilisk is terrorizing a nearby town and the party, including their charismatic and handsome leader Clarke, need Tary’s help. As Tary and Doty join the group and the wannabe hero shows off both his wealth and tricks, Doty discovers a dark plot against his master that he needs to find a way to thwart.

Barber does a fantastic job exploring not only the backstory of one of my favorite characters from campaign one, but also evolving and expanding the character of Doty and its relationship to Taryon. I loved the suspense within the story as Doty knew what was happening, but was unable to tell Taryon in the moment and how it had to improvise in order to save its master and friend. Riegel beautifully brings back the bravado and naïve innocence of early Tary in this story and made him instantly enjoyable.

Bend the Knee

Written by Nibedita Sen

Read by Travis Willingham

The Herd of Storms and their leader Kevdak make their way across the plains as they come upon the town of Westruun. Before they can reach the town, it is attacked by three dragons leaving death and destruction in their wake. In the aftermath, Kevdak decides to sack the town for anything of value. When Kevdak’s son Zanroar warns that they Herd should move on, Kevdak recalls his many victories and his discovery of the Titanstone Knuckles. Bolstered by his ego and power, he decides that the Herd, but mostly Kevdak, deserve more. Unfortunately, the dragon Umbrasyl has its own plans for the town and one of them will have to bend the knee.

Sen delivers a fantastic story about the dark depths of a man desperate to hold onto power in a world that is leaving him behind. Kevdak’s arrogance, paranoia and growing madness are brilliantly laid out in this story as he takes more dangerous risks for the sake of his own glory. Travis’ deep voice is perfectly suited to bring out not only the anger and emotion of the character, but also the darkness behind his eyes and motivations.

The Tides

Written by Sam Maggs

Read by Laura Bailey

After the fall of the final member of the Chroma Conclave, Kima and Allura find themselves lost in the open sea after a failed spell. As the two fight for their lives, Kima of Vord recounts not only the circumstances that brought her into the service of the Platinum Dragon, but also her first meeting with Allura, their time together and how she fell in love with the Arcanist. A journey that will bring her to the heights of joy to the depths of sorrow as she realizes how desperate their circumstances are and what she must do in order for one of them to survive. A decision that will bring her face to face with not only her deity, but the biggest decision of her life and its not what she thinks.

Sam Maggs crafts a beautifully rich and compelling story of love and sacrifice. I loved the circumstances that force Kima to face the choices she’s made in her life and how Allura’s presence forced her to think beyond herself. I love the relationship between these two characters and how the story creates a natural progression of their relationship while also laying out how they need each other. Laura Bailey delivers a brilliant performance in the reading of this story. There are moments of deep emotion, fear and love and I loved the subtle sensuality of the first moment the characters gave into their mutual attraction.

The Lives We Make

Written by Rebecca Coffindaffer

Read by Liam O’Brien

Kynan Leore’s dreams of being a hero have brought him into a dark reality as he deals with the consequences of his actions. As he trains with Jarett in Whitestone, his mind takes him back to the dark moments of his life including his abusive father, his embarrassment at the hands of Vax’ildan when he wanted to join Vox Machina and his time as Ripley’s right hand man. To make matters worse, his dreams cause him to sleepwalk throughout the city fueled by his own feelings of guilt and the dark deeds he performed both for and with Ripley. As Kynan prepares to abandon his training and slink off into the night, Jarett confronts him and forces him to really consider the man he wants to be.

Coffindaffer offers a story that gives deeper meaning and layers to the character of Kynan. I liked seeing him deal with his own internal guilt and how his loneliness was more of a projection onto others than true isolation. It’s a deeply dark yet painfully human story of guilt and regret. Liam O’Brien beautifully captures the angst of the character in the performance and gives his anger meaning. There is great depth in both the story and the telling of it.

Shaun

Written by Aabria Iyengar

Read by Matthew Mercer

The prodigious proprietor of Gilmore’ Glorious Goods thinks back on his life and the circumstances that brought him away from his home in Marquet to the city of Emon in Tal’Dorei. As he contemplates his life, he hides his true feelings away so no one can see them. Even when Vax’ildan comes to see him and confess his love for Keyleth, Shaun swallows his own feelings for the sake of his friend. As he sits alone, the loneliness with force Shaun Gilmore to confront the feelings he dare not let anyone see. Feelings that will force him to face himself, who he truly is and what he really wants.

As someone who has embodied the character herself, I was delighted to see the character of Gilmore through Aabria Iyengar’s eyes. Beyond being the charming, fun and often funny shopkeeper, Iyengar gives Gilmore a depth of emotion that I desperately wanted to see from the quick with a smile or wink character. Matthew Mercer does a fantastic job of bringing that emotion to life in the performance and you feel that depth of emotion, including the ones he doesn’t want you to.

Going on a Bear Hunt

Written by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Read by Ashley Johnson

As the remaining members of Vox Machina meet for a night of remembrance, song and togetherness, their children find themselves on an adventure within the depths of Whitestone castle. Trinket finds himself being decorated by young Vesper de Rolo alongside Pike and Scanlan’s daughter Juniper and a young Ashari apprentice of Keyleth’s. When the girls decide that they want to explore the castle, especially a room they have been forbidden to enter, Juni’s brother Wax is the first to protest as Trinket contemplates what to do with these cubs and how best to protect them when they make up their minds to explore. Trinket immediately has second thoughts as the bear of Whitestone finds himself in a dungeon crawl with a group of children with danger around every corner. 

Sarah Glenn Marsh brings this book to a close with a story I was hoping for. Not only do I love the fact that the story is told from Trinket’s perspective, but I love that the story focuses on the children of these characters and expands on their individual personalities. The story is filled with action, humor and Trinket’s genuine affection for these kids and their parents. Ashley Johnson delivers a fantastic performance and brings the youthful exuberance that the characters need while also brilliantly varying the voices and performances to bring out the emotions of the story.