Critical Role: Vox Machina - Stories Untold review — Heartbreaking, High-Octane, and Hilarious

I would consider myself a newer fan of Critical Role, Vox Machina, and the world of Exandria. I have been around a lot of people who know a lot about Critical Role, so I’ve always understood how large their exploits have become, but nothing had me prepared for the level of depth to some of the side characters you will recognize from Critical Role proper, The Legends of Vox Machina, etc. 

Critical Role: Vox Machina - Stories Untold is a group of stories written by 10 different authors telling the stories of characters around Vox Machina’s journeys. Each one with a different style, a different tone, and sometimes a different medium altogether. So let’s grab a magical broom, turn into an eagle, or climb aboard Scanlan’s Hand as we venture forth into Stories Untold.

Untold Stories begins with a forward by Liam O’Brien, or Vax in Legends of Vox Machina where we hear a little about the history of Critical Role and the love that Liam has for creating stories and being a part of a collective storytelling product. It’s a great introduction to our adventure as Liam does a fabulous job setting up excitement for each of these writers and the tales we’re about to read. 

I won’t be discussing every story in this novel as that would ruin the reading experience, but there will be some mild spoilers for each of them as we discuss Stories Untold. 

While the Sun Tree is a pivotal part of Exandria, its history, and the history of Whitestone is shrouded in a bit of mystery. We get to read about the origins of the Sun Tree from the perspective of the Sun Tree itself. In the title of this review, this was one of those heart-breaking stories. We read its history from the time it’s a seed to after the stories of Vox Machina are over and done. The Sun Tree sees all, feels all, until there are times it doesn’t. Reading the pain that the Sun Tree felt during the dark times of Whitestone, and the joy it felt before and after provide such a glimpse into how nature works in Exandria. It’s a beautiful story by Martin Cahill and it’s the perfect story to set expectations high for the following stories. 

The Edge of Glory by Kendra Wells is an example of how these stories are all so different because this story is a comic book. The story is from the perspective of Craven Edge, a sword wielded by Grog at the expense of Craven Edge. We find out how the sword really doesn’t like Grog because of how randomly distracted he is and how unfocused Grog stays no matter the threats made by Craven Edge. While I do feel this story could have been longer, mostly because I was having so much fun, it was a good story to place fourth as it changes up the pace of the stories.

A group of characters we didn’t have much details about were Lady Kima and Allura Vysoren. These two are a dynamic duo throughout Legend of Vox Machina and their love for each other was clear. This is the story of how their love bloomed throughout their time together. Written by Sam Maggs, who does a great job with relationships in her writing (with Star Wars: Battle Scars being another example), does a great job providing the context to why Lady Kima truly fell for Allura and why they work well as a couple. It’s a story of love and loss and everything in between. 

Beyond those three, we have quite a lineup to be excited about from some amazing writers. 

• The Exploits of Kaylie (Volume I) by Izzy Wasserstein is a story with diary entries thrown in about Scanlan’s daughter Kaylie as she struggles with her identity and her purpose in life while trying to live up to expectations of her mother while trying to ignore her desire for a relationship with her father. 
• Liar by Rory Power provides us with the context to how much work Raishan put into the Cinder King’s release and the formation of the Chroma Conclave. 
• Take This Down (being the accurate accounting of Doty and Taryon Darrington in the Basilisk’s Den) by Jess Barber takes us on a journey with Doty and Taryon with a group of adventurers to fight a Basilisk, with all the danger that entails. 
• Bend the Knee by Nibedita Sen discusses the power dynamics and struggles of Kevdak before the events of Grog’s intervention in matters. 
• The Lives We Make by Rebecca Coffindaffer focuses on Kynan Leore as he tries his best to live up to the expectations of wielding a weapon from the legendary Vox Machina as he lives his day to day becoming part of the Pale Guard. 
• Shaun by Aabria Iyengar has us in the fancy shoes of one Shaun Gilmore as he remembers the moments of his life that led him to where he is now. 
• Going on a Bear Hunt by Sarah Glenn Marsh is a wonderfully cute story of Trinket the Wonder Bear as he babysits the children of his friends in Vox Machina to make sure nobody dies in the castle under his watch… which may prove more difficult than he originally thought it would.

Each of these stories are special in their own way and provide so much context to characters that we’ve seen in passing or were a major player in the plot of Vox Machina’s adventures. Meanwhile, each one was thought out so well that it’s truly impressive that it all fits together with the worlds of Exandria made by Matt Mercer and the cast of Critical Role. You can also listen to the audio version of Stories Untold with narration by many of the cast members with stories related to their characters. I would also suggest going through this book while outside, it has an awesome calming effect. If you are a fan of Critical Role, fantasy as a whole, or just want something different; Critical Role: Vox Machina - Stories Untold is worth a read.