I needed some time before writing this review.
I remember the first time I played a furry campaign. I gathered some of my online friends, cooked up some beginning of a plot, and from simple play it ended up being something we enjoyed for about a year and a half, even having a sequel campaign that was unfortunately cut short.
Every time I began our sessions, I would be excited to share my world with my friends. And on every following night I would go to sleep wondering what I'd discover about it next. I was not planning it half as much as they probably thought. We were playing, and discovering it together.
Regicide brought some of that magic back.
The book's setting is intriguing, and portrayed so seamlessly it's easy to immerse yourself. More than once I wished the book could extend just a little beyond its pages just so I could know more about the world and its people. The illustrations help immensely in painting a clearer picture of the author's vision, not to mention their quality is outright enchanting!
The story itself is simple, but compelling. The prologue already sets the stage for what is to come, and everything that follows delivers as promised, with a lovely prose that I found myself enjoying and taking notes from after some time. Holt is a lovingly crafted protagonist. Freja is a wonderful foil. I would want a dozen more books about them, even though I think Regicide works best as a contained story.
Some criticism is warranted. Regicide sits in the uncomfortable spot of being the first of a series -- this means it has to spend some more time introducing the world to the reader rather than always give space to the story. To its credit I never found the book slow, or if I did I never minded the extra time spent in its pages. The third act however does fly rather fast. The ending left me shocked. I almost didn't like it, but after some time of reflection, I think it is fitting for the book as a whole. I just wish it had been given more pages to breathe.
I'm definitely biased. I began to read the book in pdf, and loved it enough to spend money for a signed paperback. I'd be remiss if I didn't sing its praises. It looks even more stunning than it seems in the pictures and I'll be always glad to have it on my shelf.
As an additional note, the book does contain some spelling errors or formatting mistakes. Nothing too egregious, at least nothing that would make me lose the flow of the story. Typing mistakes happen, and for an indie writer and publisher I think they're more than forgivable when the rest of the material is of such high quality.