THE MIGHTY NEIN:
STORIES UNTOLD
Fantasy
Betsy Aoki – Kiri Callaghan – Dani Carr – Mae Catt – Mike Chen – Rein Chupeco –
Nino Cirpi - Nadia El-Fassi – Chase K
Foreword by Taliesin Jaffe
RELEASE DATE:
August 11, 2026
PUBLISHER:
Random House Worlds
ISBN/ ASIN NUMBER :
9798217298488
RATING:
4.5
FIGHT
FOR THE SOUL by Betsy Aoki
Rating: 4
Uk’otoa, a leviathan, is the
son of the Cloaked Serpent. He seeks to escape his prison and take revenge on
those who sealed him away. Uk’otoa believes he has found the perfect pawn in a
certain half-orc sailor… But, the Wildmother is determined to thwart his plans.
This story is the
behind-the-scenes narrative of Uk’otoa and the Wildmother’s conflict over
Fjord. I like how we get the villian’s point-of-view. I am always a sucker for
a good fantasy story where a god (or demon) tries to influence someone to do
their dirty work.
THE
FALL WILL KILL YOU by Kiri Callaghan
Rating: 3.5
Essek Thelyss is an arcanist
obsessed with his research into dunamancy. After dining with the Mighty Nein,
he considers the path that led him to that point. The mistakes he has made, the
motive behind his choices, and the consequences that may follow. Are the Mighty
Nein truly his friends? Or are they merely pawns to be used?
I had a difficult time getting
into this story. I understand that Essek is conflicted. His constant back and
forth on certain things really boggled the story’s pacing. At first, he views
the Mighty Nein members as friends he could trust and rely on. Then Essek
questions their motives and such. His guilt over what he has done… only for him
to justify his actions. By the end of the story, I felt relieved that it was
over.
STAY
ALIVE – Dani Carr
Rating:4.5
Dairon is an expositor for the
Cobalt Soul. She worries over her young and impulsive student, Beau Lionett.
Dairon believes Beau should not be burdened by the odd companions traveling
with her. Oddly, she recalls her own troubled path, the one that landed her at
the Cobalt Soul. And the boundless patience of her teacher. When
Dairon teaches Beau the next step in her training, she realizes what those
companions mean to the monk.
I like the little glimpses we
get of Beau. True, the story focuses more on the teacher than the student.
However, I feel that Beau showed some kind of growth from the beginning of the
story and the end. I like that Dairon did not want to constrain Beau like the
others in the Cobalt Soul did. She instead wanted to see what the monk could do
without things weighing her down.
SUPER WEASEL –Mae Catt
Rating: 5
What a nice change of pace!
The story’s format is comic book style. It follows the adventures and hijinks
of Jester’s pet/furry friend.
I zipped right through it. It
is such a quick yet amusing read. And the art is drawn wonderfully!
DREAMS
OF DROWNING – Mike Chen
Rating: 4.5
Avantika becomes a pirate – or
a merchant sailor as she calls it – to escape her former life. She keeps a low
profile abroad the ship to avoid unwanted attention to her superiors. That is
until Vandran, a fellow shipmate, proposes mutiny. He introduces Avantika to
Uk’otoa, unknowingly setting her on the path she will later follow.
Based on the first story,
FIGHT FOR THE SOUL, I assume Avantika eventually becomes a villain the Mighty
Nein must face. I do not follow the podcasts, streams, or comics (the latter
yet), so I am unfamiliar with her character. I do not think she has appeared in
the animation yet. This did not lessen my enjoyment of the story.
The story delves into
Avantika’s start in piracy (that is how I see her as), and how she comes to
know the leviathan, Uk’otoa. At intervals, there are flashbacks to Avantika’s
childhood with her grandmother regaling her with stories of a fearsome god or monster.
WORTHY
– Rin Chupeco
Rating: 4
Astrid is a Volstrucker – an
elite assassin of the Dwendalian Empire. She and Eadwulf are sent to
investigate a certain ruin and eliminate the threat. Before they depart, their
leader (Trent) leaves Astrid with a cryptic remark. As they delve into the
ruins, the past keeps creeping into Astrid’s thoughts.
The story is set two years
after the incident involving Bren/Caleb’s family. Though the story focuses
mostly on Astrid’s inner dialogue, it does show what happened to Bren. Her
conflicted feelings for Bren, how his mental breakdown affected her, and Trent’s
motives. I like that Astrid has some doubts about Trent. She is not a mindless
devotee.
RESPECTFULLY
– Nino Cipri
Rating: 4.5
Pumat Sol is an enchanter and
owner of a magic shop called Invulnerable Vagrant. He returns from a journey
expecting chaos, but he finds his three clones handling everything well. What
troubles Pumat is that they have allowed the Cerberus Assembly to assist with
the shop in his absence. When two katari flee into his shop with Assembly
lackeys in pursuit, he inadvertently helps them.
I remember this character, and
his shop, from the animation. He never really left much of an impression on me.
Honestly, Pumat is one of those characters I would not give much thought to.
However, I did enjoy this story involving him and his clones. I can understand
him being bent out of shape concerning them. How they adapted in his absence.
And the initiative they took with the shop. And, I like how the Mighty Nein influenced
Pumat to change and adapt, to see the Assembly in a different light.
DELICIOUS
–Nadia El-Fassi
Rating: 2
Isharnai is a hag known as the
great Prism Sage. She feeds off the misery of the people she made contracts
with. Isharnai reflects on her encounter with Jester, the blue-skinned member
of the Mighty Nein, over a cupcake.
I struggled with this story.
The characters and the story’s premises did not interest or grab me. Honestly,
I found it incredibly dull and boring.
THE
RUBY’S GENTLEMAN – Chase K
Rating:4.5
Marion is a celebrated
courtesan known as the Ruby of the Sea. Babenon Dosal is a Zadash crime boss
called the Gentleman. They reunite only to be separated once more when someone
threatens Babenon. He sends Marion back to the Chateau to protect her from harm.
They exchange secret notes with Marion urging him to share his life and
difficulties with her.
A cute story about Jester’s
birth parents. It shows how they met, why they were separated, and what brought
them back together again. I love that Marion and Babenon’s romance began with a
book, and the small notes they wrote within its pages. And I adore how their
romance picked up like no time between them have passed.
I have always loved fantasy.
Sometimes it feels like my idea of the genre does not always seem universal.
When I think of fantasy, worlds like Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and
Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar come to mind. I am so done with Tuatha De Danann and
fae this or fae that. I want elves (drows, sylvan give me variety), dragons,
unusual creatures, sorcery of all kinds.
Fantasy does not seem to be
written that way anymore – which saddens me. That is until Critical Role. I
would like to thank everyone involved in CR for giving this fantasy lover
something to look forward to again! I have been enjoying this world immensely.
I am not up to date with The
Mighty Nein. And I do not follow the podcasts or the like since they are not my
thing. The comics are on my “want to read list”, once I finish buying and
reading Vox Machina. Now I have watched the season on Prime (and eagerly
awaiting Season 2), along with VM. I have read and enjoyed TUSK LOVE – which is
set in that world.
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