Try Not to Die: In the Shadowlands – Andrew Najberg

5 stars

I always have the absolute best time reading a Try Not to Die book, and TNTD in the Shadowlands was such an exciting and fun installment to this series! And I only clocked 6 deaths on this one! I’m counting that as a win 😁

What really sets this TNTD book apart from the others is it’s “replayability.” While you go through and make your choices, there are certain choices that way a little more. When you get to the end, you have to pick which option represents the important choices you made, and that’s the ending you get. There are 8 different ways you can end the book, and I can’t wait to see what the other ones are! My choices led me to getting turned into a living table, and I best be the absolute most beautiful and well-made table you’ve ever seen! There was a lot of poetic irony to this ending, so I can’t even be mad at it 😂

I really liked getting to see some of the characters from Neverborn Thief back again! While you can definitely read this without having read Neverborn Thief, it does give you more of a rounded experience since you know some of the characters and can attempt to gear your choices based on what you know (or think you know) about them. It was so cool getting to learn more about these characters, though there were some things I could’ve done without (looking at you, Mr. Weird Stabby Removy Hands….).

Despite two of my violent and highly unfortunate deaths coming within 5 minutes of each other, my time in the Shadowlands was enjoyable (or as enjoyable as the Shadowlands can be, at any rate), and I’m really excited to play again and get some of the other endings and deaths!

Also…….TOMMY SUCKS!!