The book is dedicated to My Chemical Romance, "because they get it". What it is they "get" is to be defined later I guess.
p 3 The style is sometimes ponderous. A sentence in the 1st paragraph of the novel: "Far below, the valley spread like the pages of a moldering, forgotten tome that no one wished to read, that perhaps no one should've written in the first place."
Now I’m at page 16, and let’s already establish something quickly: subtelty isn’t part of the adventure! In a D&D game, mists like described in the book would generate yells from the players. The mists parts and you see a house. You go away from this ominous house ? The mists brings you back to its front yard! Then : you stand in front of the house but you do not enter in it? The mists turns Green as it becomes poisonous! Now, do you enter?
I understand it's a novel and not a game, but still...
Added later as I continue reading:
P19 battle with pig corpses turned into Boneless. Good idea. Creepy description
P22 the orc wizard is an idiot
Stressed, he casts Grease instead of Magic missile ! This creates chaos and it nearly ends in tpk. Highly credible. P29 A headless zombie chicken! That is something you don't see everyday! Unexpected
P33 more mists deus ex machina to force the caracters in a direction.
P40 same
P42 43 same, but with lightning. Railroading at full throttle!
P44 same with Wolves. You hesitate to enter the carriage. Many wolves appears. Now do you get in the carriage ?
P55 56 same. You debark the carriage and hesitate between to enter the castle or walk down the slope to the village. Dozens of Wolves « suddenly » appear! One of the five caracters acknowledge this railroading and say they are forced in a direction, « theatrically » Oh well, quite heavy handed, as I noted before… If that is the suggested way to play RL in 5e, I'm out.
The 5 caracters are an odd lot. The author even jokes that it could be the start of a joke: a drow, a tiefling and a half-orc walks into a bar...
There is some effort at breaking stereotypes. The half-orc is sophisticated and an apprentice wizard. The drow is a dim barbarian. It appears like those were switched when revisors made sterotype comments
Oh, and the drow is bisexual (p 78). There's no mention of any sexual orientation for the other caracters, but it is said (a few times in the book) the drow is bi. I let you think of the relevance of this in the novel.
p 61 - another example of strange writing style: "His" (Strahd's) "voice was like music, but the kind of music that makes people dance until they die"
Strahd is so far very polite and welcoming. He divides the caracters by playing on their flaws - ex. to the unconfident half orc, Strahd tells him he must be the leader of the group as the others are dim. But no memorable quote yet.
p66 Yes, Fielle, the human girl of the group is you know who and that explains Strahd's interest in her.
p 73 "The liquid was warm and soft as velvet, sweet and sirupy, and it slid into her like a poisoned blade"
p76 strange scene of a bath turning into blood. Next day, the caracter wakes up covered in dried blood.
p 78 F- word mentionned!
p 99 - battle with gargoyles. Another railroading, this time at preventing the group's escape.
, but keep going...
