The Fallbacks return in an all new adventure that sees them face down one of Faerun’s deadliest creatures: dragons!
I had the opportunity to dive into the world of The Fallbacks, an adventuring party introduced in 2024 in The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin by author Jaleigh Johnson. The story, and its sequel, is set in the world of the Forgotten Realms, with the party visiting well-known locations up and down the Sword Coast.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons
Written By: Jaleigh Johnson
Published by: Random House worlds
Release date: July 29, 2025
After their initial adventure, the titular group of adventurers are back and seemingly in more trouble than ever. In The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons, while the group has received steady work since taking down a lich in their first adventure, there’s still the matter of Baldric’s mysterious foe to deal with, and it soon becomes clear that this entity won’t take “no” for an answer. It’s a race against time to see if Tess and the Fallbacks can save Baldric from this predicament before something deadly happens to the party’s cleric.
Having recently finished the first Fallbacks novel, I was immediately delighted to see how smoothly Dealing with Dragons picks the threads of the story up. The narrative begins a number of months after the conclusion of the first novel and the opening quickly establishes how much the group has grown in skill and power since taking down Lorthrannon. It also wastes little time in showing what issues remain and this is built on throughout the rest of the novel. The Fallbacks, for all their many skills, are still quite fallible and I love that the narrative doesn’t shy away from this.
One of the best parts of this story is how the author layers the mystery of who and what is after Baldric. In true Dungeons and Dragons fashion, the big villain of this story can “appear” with almost no warning, and Jaleigh Johnson makes use of this to great effect more than once. It really helps to build up the suspense, especially in the later chapters of the novel. As terrifying as Lothrannan was in the previous novel, it almost pales in comparison to the foes encountered in this book.
Speaking some more of Baldric, I really appreciated how the author takes a deeper look at why the cleric deals with the gods the way he does. More specifically, I like the way she made the point of “doing things this way has its own risks but you are not at fault for choosing your own path.” It’s a good reminder that choices, even ones that seem to benefit everyone, can have unforeseen consequences. In fact it could be argued that “actions have consequences” is the overarching theme of this story. It seems that everyone in this group has done something in the past and are just now facing the consequences of whatever they did.
Another strength of this story is that while Baldric’s issues are at the forefront of the tale, the narrative still takes the time to follow the rest of The Fallbacks as they continue to work on their own problems, wide and varied as they are. I particularly enjoyed watching Cazrin grapple with her family history while continuing to grow in her powers as a wizard.
Then there’s Lark. The tiefling bard grabbed my attention in the first novel and continued to do so in the follow up. This is a person who is truly starting to come into their own…if only they can survive whatever’s plaguing them. I sincerely hope the next Fallbacks entry puts Lark’s story center stage (pun fully intended) because this story laid plenty of groundwork and my curiosity is piqued. As a musician, I can also appreciate the way Lark’s musical magic is described whenever it is used. Magic comes in many flavors in the Forgotten Realms and I love that Lark’s magic is presented as being separate but no less powerful than Cazrin’s.
Finally, I still can’t get over how well Jaleigh Johnson brings Faerun to life as The Fallbacks move from one place to the next. Be it a sailing ship, the magical Wander Inn, or an archmage’s tower, all of these places are described at a level that brings them fully to life in the mind’s eye. This is a real and thriving world and it just makes it that much easier to sink into the story and forget about the real world for a few hours.
In conclusion, there is so much to love about Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons. The party is continuing to grow, both in power and as a found family. The best part? It’s clear to me that the story isn’t over and I can’t wait to see what they get up to next.
