Critical Role: Bells Hells--What Doesn't Break

Cassandra Khaw · Critical Role

Oct 2024 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Grey Delisle, Marisha Ray, Laura Bailey, and Robbie Daymond

About this audiobook

Uncover the lost years of Critical Role’s unrelentingly upbeat undead spellcaster in this original prequel novel to Laudna’s adventures with Bells Hells.
 
For as long as she can remember, Laudna has had a friend. A mentor. A little voice whispering in her cropped ear, promising that, no matter how monstrous she becomes or how far she wanders, there will always be someone to guide her.
 
And so, Laudna is content.
 
But the thought of more—of life, of love, of the magic stirring in her still veins—is unrelenting in its familiarity. More is the dream of the young girl trapped behind the bloodstained walls of Whitestone, and the nightmare of the woman who now stalks the woods outside them. More, Laudna’s little voice reminds her, is dangerous. From Tal’Dorei to Marquet, the world is infested with heroes destined to rid their kingdoms of creatures like Laudna.
 
The little voice is right, she knows.
 
But still, she thinks of more. And when she reaches for that dream, what reaches back will change everything.
 
Written by USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, Critical Role: Bells Hells—What Doesn’t Break delves into the unexplored years before Laudna joined up with the crew of Bells Hells, chronicling her departure from Whitestone and her solo adventures on the road to Jrusar.

Ratings and reviews

Agonizing, but heartachingly earnest. Every word painted such a vivid picture of the world and emotion of Laudna's experience, tragic and heartbreaking as it was. But, despite my tears and the gut-punch lines littered throughout this novel, I also found it to be immensely hopeful and warm. An excellently crafted novel and audiobook from everyone involved. Cassandra knocked Laudna's quirks and personality out of the park, as well as the distinct tangibility of the world of Exandria. A tale absolutely worth experiencing. Robbie Daymond, as always, excellently narrated a tale so heartbreaking with masterful skill. Every character felt distinct and alive, and every tragic thought in Laudna's mind felt as impactful as if she'd spoken it aloud herself. Marisha Ray and Grey DeLisle carried the core dialogue of this novel with such palpable dark, nuanced chemistry, it was hard not to hang on every single tragic, wonderous word. Absolutely my new fav in the CR library. 10/10 would cry again

esse livro destruiu minha vida eu acho que nunca mais vou ser a mesma depois disso

WOOOOOOOOO

About the author

Cassandra Khaw is the author of USA Today bestseller Nothing but Blackened Teeth and Bram Stoker Award winner Breakable Things. Their other works include British Fantasy Award and Locus Award finalist Hammers on Bone, The Salt Grows Heavy, and The Dead Take the A Train, co-written with New York Times bestselling author Richard Kadrey. Khaw’s work can also be found on Tordotcom and in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy.
 
Founded by veteran voice actors Matthew Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel, Laura Bailey, and Liam O’Brien, Critical Role has grown from a weekly improv storytelling campaign set in an ever-evolving world to a media company centered on connecting with communities in new and meaningful ways, including fiction (Critical Role: Vox Machina—Kith & Kin) and nonfiction (The World of Critical Role) books on the New York Times bestseller list, comic books (Vox Machina Origins, Tales of Exandria), graphic novels (The Mighty Nein Origins series), collectibles, tabletop and role playing games, podcasts, live events, and a critically acclaimed animated series, The Legend of Vox Machina.