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T O P I C    R E V I E W
Drizztsmanchild Posted - 12 Sep 2019 : 03:52:53
This book was released this week and for Drizzt fans like me,just a continuation of the enjoyable reading. It continues the backstory of Jax and Zak,as well as the continuing drow obsession with Drizzt and Gauntylgrym. Without going into detail or spoiling it to much
Demons
Drow
An exciting cliffhanger
And of course parkour...yes parkour. Lol
30   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
Irennan Posted - 18 Jan 2020 : 22:25:39
Yeah. I mean, yes, the editor should catch a lot of that, but RAS has been working with FR for decades, and he makes mistakes that are trivial to the point that they could be avoided with an effing google search (which raises the question of whether or not they are intentional, because RAS needs something to happen, and he's ready to trump the setting created by others and that carried him to success, rather than attempting to work around it). It's obvious that he just doesn't care and doesn't respect the Realms, nor--at this point--does he seem to respect his own characters. Especially considering the fact that the story has no real reason to go forward without a fatal flaw and premise (see my post quoted above), because there's no arc or change without a fatal flaw and a premise.

At the beginning, Drizzt was this character struggling to fight his upbringing, finding his place in a hostile and alien world, and discovering his identity. Now he basically is a bunch of traits that (according to RAS, btw) should look like moral virtues slapped onto a stick and called a character. The conflict for Drizzt has been exhausted, to the point that RAS had to magic it up in Hero with that very far-fetched, very forced arc of Drizzt's "madness", that had him sort of mimic the kind of develepoment that he had to go through before (or so was the intent, from what I've gathered, since I only know the story from the recount of the events). That tells a lot about the reason why these novels are still being written--not for the story, but because it's easy $$.

Then again, as I said, since I haven't read the books, I might be wrong on this, but the plot that I've been given is the real one, so no matter how amazing your writing style is, if there's a bug in how you structured the plot, and the absence of a fatal flaw/premise, your story goes nowhere meaningful, really.
CorellonsDevout Posted - 18 Jan 2020 : 21:34:10
Bob himself should be more Realms savvy, considering he's worked in the Realms for years and is friends with Ed.
Firestorm Posted - 18 Jan 2020 : 20:32:41
quote:
Originally posted by Irennan

quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild

Sadly and its been this way for a while nowfor the novels...there really isn't a shared world anymore. I would love authors like Ed,Elaine, Troy and plenty others to rreturn and write again in this world. But its only Bob for now.
I get the whole pet peeve with Bob not sticking exactly to whatever lore is out there in the campaign books ,monster manuals ,etc... but he has been this way from the start and while I am not certain if it still true,I do recall somewhere that what he writes most of the time becomes lore or canon. Again I could be wrong and its changed. Feel free to correct me if needed. Also has anyone bothered to ask Bob himself about this? I follow him on FB and if you message him he does reply after a bit. As long as it doesn't seem like you're attacking him. He's quite cordial.


Man, it's not "a bit", it's writing total nonsense into the Realms. Shade fell on the Anaruroch? Was he for real? Like, an effing google search would have been enough to realize what an embarrassing error that was. A retriever is as powerful as a demon lord? What even is that? Even setting the lore aside, even assuming that this was his own world, couldn't he see how ridiculous that would be from a worldbuilding persepctive (due to how many retrievers exist, and to how they are in service to various demons), or the problems of internal consistency within the story itself, unrlatedly to the lore. It just screams "I no longer give a f, fans will eat anything anyway".

The fact that the most noticeable character growth is about power ups, rather than developing and overcoming their fatal flaws, is one more sign of this kind of attitude. I don't even know what Drizzt's fatal flaw would be now. And yes, you can write arcs where the character has already overcome the fatal flaw related to the theme of the story, but in those stories, the character actively acts as a catalyst and puts a lot of effort into changing something; in making other characters overcome the fatal flaw. Just to clarify, by theme/premise I mean the "thesis" of the story, a statement around which all the main conflict of the story is built, and that should be a common theme in all the main scenes; the fatal flaw should be something opposed to that statement. To make a ridiculous example, a premise might be "kindness will hurt you", and the protag's fatal flaw to overcome would be being kind. In a catalyst arc, the protag might be kinda an ass (so he has already overcome the fatal flaw of kindness) that comes to a kind community and forces the people there to change their values from "be kind to each other" to "every man for himself". With that said, from what I was told, Drizzt is not a catalyst character; he just does his Drizzt stuff, fighting and so on, rather than, say, actually trying to be a leader to the drow, working to inject new ideas, actively showing them another path, etc (before someone says "but some drow are growing restless becuase of Drizzt's fame", that's not the same, that's a side effect of his adventures that he got for free, not the topic of a storyline--and it doesn't make any sense in FR whatsoever, with two gods actively working to open the drow's eyes, with their followers even infiltrating Lolthite citires). Anyway, back to topic, when the story is not about a catalyst character, like in the latest Drizzt books, the protagonist needs a fatal flaw, otherwise it's hollow; like a movie that focuses only on fights and explosions for the sake of fights and explosions. From the summary of the stories that I've got, Drizzt isn't a catalyst, yet he just doesn't change. I can't see what kind of fatal flaw Drizzt is trying to overcome, how he is changing or what the theme/premise of the story is--it really feels like beating a dead horse at this point (the worst example of this was, IMO, in the Homecoming tirlogy, when RAS tried to create conflict by suddenly making Drizzt doubt everything he's ever believed, and therefore go back to his fatal flaws of old).

Also, no; Shade didn't magically fall on the Anauroch because Bob believes so, that didn't become canon. A retriever is still CR 14, despite what he writes. The only author that has a clause in his cointract saying that his lore, from any source, is canon unless contradicted by WotC, is Ed.

It's still a shared world, it's the world Ed created and that so many others contributed to. Bob didn't create it, but used it to get where he is; this is matter of basic respect, it's not simply an issue of writing quality (and I'm sorry to say this, but it's telling of him as a person).

quote:

Book thought. I wonder why Drizzt didn't go to the astral plane with Guen to avoid the retriever.



Probably for a cheap "oh noes, is he really dead?" effect; the cliffhanger ending to get you to buy the next book. And, ofc, it will be followed by the *shocking* (TM) reveal that Drizzt has managed to "surpass his limits" again, trascending/ascending/becoming a super being aftere mere months of training. 'Cuz he's 'osom like that. So sad to see the FR novels reduced to this.



The honest truth is his editors should catch this stuff but they don't. His editors should be realm savvy but are not.

Killing a lich with electricity in pirate king was comical watching the comments unfold. People were trying to defend it saying it was a way for a low level caster to beat an age old lich since he cast it in water and magnified the effect.

Then someone said "there is that little problem of cliches being immune to electricity and the argument stutterstopped
Copper Elven Vampire Posted - 30 Dec 2019 : 14:58:21
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout

I agree with what Irennan said. It isn't about the mechanics of the game. It's about the lore of the setting. Bob can do whatever he wants in Corona, and at his own gaming table. But he is writing in a shared setting--and as the only currently even writing FR novels, he should adhere to canon a little more. But instead, he plays in the sandbox and throws the sand. I doubt he does this in Corona. He gave the world and established history, lore, etc. I am sure he adheres to it. He should do the same with the Realms.

For example, in Boundless, there have been perfect opportunities to bring up Eilistraee or Vhaeraun, with all the talk of goodly drow. As much as Bob deals with dark elves, one would think he would at least acknowledge the rest of the pantheon. But nope! He also (and I noticed this particularly in Boundless) presents characters of faith as somehow ignorant or less intelligent. He doesn't directly say this, of course, but that is how the characters are presented (and I don't just mean Lolthites). Uh...what? I am not a religious person, but in the context of the setting, the gods are very real and active, with most Faerunians being either polytheistic or having a defined patron god (like clerics). But Bob's handling of this is not only insulting to the setting, but to the characters, as well.

Yes, it's a fantasy, but fantasy stories have (or should have) consistency. That is good writing. Look at all the fantasy worlds out there. All of them have an established setting and lore the authors adhere to. Tolkien didn't say, "actually, despite the fact that I have hitherto called it the Grey Havens, it's actually Pinkland, and you get there by going south, not west. Because I can." Fantasy doesn't just allow you to throw everything to the breeze, especially if you are writing in a shared setting.





I agree 100% with you on this. RAS never sticks to FR lore and grotesquely messes up what little he does incorporate.
Irennan Posted - 05 Oct 2019 : 15:24:08
The problem is, as said countless times, that the retirevers were stated to be demon-lord levels of power, which is frankly stupid (yes, even for somewhat special retrievers), on top of being outright false, making no sense worldbuidling wise (think about the consequences that the ability to produce armies of demon-lords, near godlike beings, that even Lolth wouldn't face, would have--especially in the hands of beings who only want to destroy everything), and being inconsistent with what we saw in RAS' former books.

For example, if retrievers were *this* powerful, Lolth's plan to take over the Abyss would have been doomed to fail from the get go (I mean, it *did* fail, like most of her plans, but that's another matter). She made all that mess just to get the demon lords out of their homes, but then they had plenty of constructs as powerful as them to guard them? What was even the point, then? Also, the demon lords could have easily summoned these immensely powerful constructs on the prime and level anything on their path during that crisis. We're talking about armies of demon lord-like retrievers, plus the demon lord itself, plus all its demons. Yet none of that happened. Furthermore, if the demon lords could serially produce beings as powerful as themselves, they would have likely taken over the devils in the blood war by now, and would pose a massive threat to the upper planes as well.

Lets face it, Retrievers were portrayed as this powerful by RAS merely because he needed some uber escalation of threat and power. He feel in the trap of ridiculous "ESCALATION!!!1!", and (as usual in the recent books) crapped all over the world he was using to fit his narrative.
Drizztsmanchild Posted - 05 Oct 2019 : 04:18:24
Something I noticed on Demogorgon Wiki page. It says he has "unusual retrievers " . If he was the one who sent them could be why they were different than normal retrievers. And so difficult to eliminate. Just a thought.
jordanz Posted - 30 Sep 2019 : 07:11:38
I give Boundless a 3 out of five. It was ok..I thought they spent a bit too much time going retro with Zak.

With all this talk about unwarranted powerups, I think one character that actually needs one is Wulfgar. Once again he goes out like a clown. Despite being boosted by Kimmuriel he couldn't seem o dispatch that lone cambion - instead he misses and gets poisoned.

Meanwhile Arthrogate gets to take down scores of demons and before getting taken down and poisoned. Does R.A. feel that only Dwarves can be bad ass fighters now?

Drizzt is stacking high level monk skills with his Epic level fighting skills...

Catttbrie is now and Arch mage and a high Priest


Breunor can now channel Moradin's Divine power to become a giant and go toe to toe with arch dukes from Hell

Regis can now fight, make various potions, swim like Aquaman, and has cool lethal weapons at his disposal.

Wulfgar? He's still the big guy with the hammer - and - he can bang milfs now..but what else?

Is he a more potent warrior? It doesn't seem so. Not really any more skilled or wiser than before. I think he deserves to approach "epic" levels as well. Not sure what the AD&D rules are but don't high level Barbarians have War Cries that can invoke fear in opponents or was that just in Diablo?

Epic raging, Damage reduction...heck perhaps even make him a chosen of Tempus - and give him a quest to unite all the Northern Barbarian tribes.


Aegis Fang- perhaps it has some untapped abilities? Maybe give it the ability to summon ghost barbarians - like a "Horn of Valhalla" and other stuff...

Give Wulfgar something - it's only fair.

PS I think Artemis needs to be dead, think of the pain and torture he is going through in that cocoon...not just the bites/poison, but the millions of Chasme eggs that are running his veins? Do you really want to see him come back as the shade Demigod of Chasme Demons?

Madpig Posted - 24 Sep 2019 : 06:53:52
quote:
Originally posted by Tanthalas

Wow, lots of people complaining about the book.

Personally I enjoyed it. If I had to point a flaw it would be that dividing the book between the past and present made it feel like there was little focus in the present storyline. I didn't feel the same with the past storyline because there were less events going on there. In the present he has too many characters needing attention.



I think that the past events are way more interesting than the current ones. Couple of events I do wait for in past timelines are following:
- Jarlaxles mention in some book about desperate fight with couple of weaponmasteres, where Zak saves the day.
-Mention in Homeland that Zak has killed a demigod. I think that might have been a boast for young Drizzt though.
Tanthalas Posted - 24 Sep 2019 : 02:11:38
Wow, lots of people complaining about the book.

Personally I enjoyed it. If I had to point a flaw it would be that dividing the book between the past and present made it feel like there was little focus in the present storyline. I didn't feel the same with the past storyline because there were less events going on there. In the present he has too many characters needing attention.
sno4wy Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 19:46:42
Honestly, it'd be much better for Artemis to die even in that cocoon scenario than for Bob to continue butchering his character. I love Artemis but the thing I want the most for him is for him to be permanently killed so that Bob doesn't ruin him anymore.
CorellonsDevout Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 18:14:54
I was wondering how Kimmie got out of the mess too. But it wasn't mentioned.
jmason107 Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 18:02:36
I wouldn’t mind seeing Gromph kill Quenthel off finally though. Just do it with Artemis’s dagger that way she can’t be resurrected like she was when Drizzt killed her. And it wasn’t explained how Kimmuriel escaped from being captured at the end of Timeless or did I miss that part? I must say tying in the Jax and Zack backstory to the current events was actually genius of Bob. And most of us wanted that anyway.
Seravin Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 16:39:28
He's already killed off so everyone and brought them all back; I don't see how death has meaning in his universe any more? From Matron Mothers to Drizzt to all of the Companions to Pwent to whomever...they've all come back to life at some point or another :) Killing them off means nothing, series end or not.
CorellonsDevout Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 16:15:37
I don't mind divine intervention so much lol. I was happy to see the Companions return. I am just unhappy with Bob's overall handling of the Realms. The series needs to end, but I don't think he should kill off everyone to do it.
Seravin Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 11:45:38
Oh please. Even if Bob kills off Drizzt, Catti, Artemis, Jarlaxle, Bruenor, Regis, Wulfgar, etc. they always come back to life even without a conventional ressurection spell which is something readily available/plausible. It's a rebirth or divine intervention or some such nonsense when a much more easy solution is available that works with the game setting. Novels have a tough time with death in FR/D&D because to have meaning you have to erase the inclusion of Raise Dead and Ressurection spells, which have been included in some novels and absent in others.
CorellonsDevout Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 04:39:02
I don't think Artemis is dead (I sure hope not, anyway). Because I agree; that would be a horrible end to the character, after all he has been through. And I don't just mean horrible as in a horrible way to die, I mean writing-wise as well.
jmason107 Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 04:22:34
Personally I enjoyed it. I don’t think Lolth sent those retrievers though. Demogorgon perhaps since one of his generals Barlgura is in the novel as well is my guess. And if Artemis actually died in that demon insect cocoon I’m gonna be upset. That would be a silly way to kill off such a good character IMO.
Irennan Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 01:44:54
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout

I don't know about asking Bob. You're free to ask him, of course, but to me, he's come off as rather arrogant (someone even quoted him saying "I do what I want", which sounds narcissistic to me). But I have heard others say he's friendly (granted these are also usually the people who are obsessed). I'm not saying he's a horrible person. I'm sure he's a cool enough guy. But I don't trust his writing. I asked him a Realms question in an email once. He was nice, but also vague, and used real world applications, which did not work for the question, and the answer was also a little strange canonically.




Nowadays, it's rare to find an author who isn't friendly. It would just hurt their PR, and therefore sales. When I read people talking about authors (or similar) it's almost always "oh, they're *so* friendly and down to earth, they even responded to my message!". I really doubt that Bob will be that friendly towards (or even consider) someone who asks him why he disrespects something he didn't create, but still profits from it. Or why he can't even bother to google search something before he writes random BS. And yes, his treatment of something that he didn't create, but that made him reach his position, is indeed disrespectful and arrogant. Actions speak far louder than words.
CorellonsDevout Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 00:52:47
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild

Sadly and its been this way for a while nowfor the novels...there really isn't a shared world anymore. I would love authors like Ed,Elaine, Troy and plenty others to rreturn and write again in this world. But its only Bob for now.
I get the whole pet peeve with Bob not sticking exactly to whatever lore is out there in the campaign books ,monster manuals ,etc... but he has been this way from the start and while I am not certain if it still true,I do recall somewhere that what he writes most of the time becomes lore or canon. Again I could be wrong and its changed. Feel free to correct me if needed. Also has anyone bothered to ask Bob himself about this? I follow him on FB and if you message him he does reply after a bit. As long as it doesn't seem like you're attacking him. He's quite cordial.

Book thought. I wonder why Drizzt didn't go to the astral plane with Guen to avoid the retriever.



The campaign setting guides provide lore for the established setting, and all the FR novels are canon (with the exception perhaps of Rose of Sarifel) and affect canon. The Avatar series, for example, showcased the Time of Troubles. While novels may be secondary to gaming itself, they are often used to move the setting forward. And again, the lore provided in the campaign settings, deity guides, etc, are established canon.

Yes, there have been inconsistencies in other novels, but Bob seems to blatantly ignore most established canon all together. He did help contribute to fleshing out Menzo, but most of the time, if his novels feature major events (like the recent Sundering, for example), it’s not so much his books becoming canon as it is him just being part of a major event, and then ignoring most of what is going on. Speaking of this, when he actually does bring in established lore, it feels very random, because he hasn’t bothered to cover it previously. Take Szass Tam in the Neverwinter books, for example (I think that’s when he appeared). It was cool to see him, but his presentation was so random, that, had I not read Haunted Lands trilogy, I would have no idea who he was. Or Shakti Hunzrin. He completely glossed over her past as a traitor-priestess, which, given the fact that she was now a zealous Lolthite, is a rather important tidbit of info (as I said above, the way he handles the gods drives me up the wall). Like I said, Bob tends to play in the sandbox and then throw the sand. That’s fine at your own gaming table, but not so much when you’re writing material that is published. And now that he has his own publishing deal, it’s only getting worse.

Drizzt is the gateway into the Realms for many (myself included). I still like the character, I have just become really frustrated with the way Bob handles—or perhaps more aptly, doesn’t handle—the lore. I learned so much more once I branched out. Just reading the Drizzt books taught me very little about Faerun. And, since Bob is currently the only one writing in the Realms, he should be a little more conscientious of what he writes (in regards to lore). I get there is a lot to remember. The Realms has a long history, and there is a lot of material. But a simple fact-check (whether it’s looking something up, or asking someone, such as Ed) would solve that issue.

I don't know about asking Bob. You're free to ask him, of course, but to me, he's come off as rather arrogant (someone even quoted him saying "I do what I want", which sounds narcissistic to me). But I have heard others say he's friendly (granted these are also usually the people who are obsessed). I'm not saying he's a horrible person. I'm sure he's a cool enough guy. But I don't trust his writing. I asked him a Realms question in an email once. He was nice, but also vague, and used real world applications, which did not work for the question, and the answer was also a little strange canonically.

As for Drizzt not going into the Astral Plane, I don’t think he can just enter it on a whim, can he? I do think he has achieved some sort of transcendence or ascendance. Whether that is an ascendance like what Kane achieved, or something like a demigod, remains to be seen. But Drizzt clearly had a plan, which is why he went to the monastery.
Caolin Posted - 16 Sep 2019 : 00:01:33
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild

Sadly and its been this way for a while nowfor the novels...there really isn't a shared world anymore. I would love authors like Ed,Elaine, Troy and plenty others to rreturn and write again in this world. But its only Bob for now.



This is because WotC has zero interest in continuing the novel line. The only reason we get these stale Drizzt novels is because WotC let Salvatore go and make his own publishing deal. I'm convinced that we'll never see another FR novel from anyone other than Salvatore.
Irennan Posted - 15 Sep 2019 : 17:08:46
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild

Sadly and its been this way for a while nowfor the novels...there really isn't a shared world anymore. I would love authors like Ed,Elaine, Troy and plenty others to rreturn and write again in this world. But its only Bob for now.
I get the whole pet peeve with Bob not sticking exactly to whatever lore is out there in the campaign books ,monster manuals ,etc... but he has been this way from the start and while I am not certain if it still true,I do recall somewhere that what he writes most of the time becomes lore or canon. Again I could be wrong and its changed. Feel free to correct me if needed. Also has anyone bothered to ask Bob himself about this? I follow him on FB and if you message him he does reply after a bit. As long as it doesn't seem like you're attacking him. He's quite cordial.


Man, it's not "a bit", it's writing total nonsense into the Realms. Shade fell on the Anaruroch? Was he for real? Like, an effing google search would have been enough to realize what an embarrassing error that was. A retriever is as powerful as a demon lord? What even is that? Even setting the lore aside, even assuming that this was his own world, couldn't he see how ridiculous that would be from a worldbuilding persepctive (due to how many retrievers exist, and to how they are in service to various demons), or the problems of internal consistency within the story itself, unrlatedly to the lore. It just screams "I no longer give a f, fans will eat anything anyway".

The fact that the most noticeable character growth is about power ups, rather than developing and overcoming their fatal flaws, is one more sign of this kind of attitude. I don't even know what Drizzt's fatal flaw would be now. And yes, you can write arcs where the character has already overcome the fatal flaw related to the theme of the story, but in those stories, the character actively acts as a catalyst and puts a lot of effort into changing something; in making other characters overcome the fatal flaw. Just to clarify, by theme/premise I mean the "thesis" of the story, a statement around which all the main conflict of the story is built, and that should be a common theme in all the main scenes; the fatal flaw should be something opposed to that statement. To make a ridiculous example, a premise might be "kindness will hurt you", and the protag's fatal flaw to overcome would be being kind. In a catalyst arc, the protag might be kinda an ass (so he has already overcome the fatal flaw of kindness) that comes to a kind community and forces the people there to change their values from "be kind to each other" to "every man for himself". With that said, from what I was told, Drizzt is not a catalyst character; he just does his Drizzt stuff, fighting and so on, rather than, say, actually trying to be a leader to the drow, working to inject new ideas, actively showing them another path, etc (before someone says "but some drow are growing restless becuase of Drizzt's fame", that's not the same, that's a side effect of his adventures that he got for free, not the topic of a storyline--and it doesn't make any sense in FR whatsoever, with two gods actively working to open the drow's eyes, with their followers even infiltrating Lolthite citires). Anyway, back to topic, when the story is not about a catalyst character, like in the latest Drizzt books, the protagonist needs a fatal flaw, otherwise it's hollow; like a movie that focuses only on fights and explosions for the sake of fights and explosions. From the summary of the stories that I've got, Drizzt isn't a catalyst, yet he just doesn't change. I can't see what kind of fatal flaw Drizzt is trying to overcome, how he is changing or what the theme/premise of the story is--it really feels like beating a dead horse at this point (the worst example of this was, IMO, in the Homecoming tirlogy, when RAS tried to create conflict by suddenly making Drizzt doubt everything he's ever believed, and therefore go back to his fatal flaws of old).

Also, no; Shade didn't magically fall on the Anauroch because Bob believes so, that didn't become canon. A retriever is still CR 14, despite what he writes. The only author that has a clause in his cointract saying that his lore, from any source, is canon unless contradicted by WotC, is Ed.

It's still a shared world, it's the world Ed created and that so many others contributed to. Bob didn't create it, but used it to get where he is; this is matter of basic respect, it's not simply an issue of writing quality (and I'm sorry to say this, but it's telling of him as a person).

quote:

Book thought. I wonder why Drizzt didn't go to the astral plane with Guen to avoid the retriever.



Probably for a cheap "oh noes, is he really dead?" effect; the cliffhanger ending to get you to buy the next book. And, ofc, it will be followed by the *shocking* (TM) reveal that Drizzt has managed to "surpass his limits" again, trascending/ascending/becoming a super being aftere mere months of training. 'Cuz he's 'osom like that. So sad to see the FR novels reduced to this.
Swordsage Posted - 15 Sep 2019 : 11:25:56
It's clear that Salvatore's celebrity has granted him licence to spin the Realms in any way he wants and with little regard for consistency and previous lore in the setting. Funnily enough I think the rot set in when his editors allowed him to use junk/joke names for characters. After that, he knew he could go off on a frolic any time he wanted. I stopped reading when the "Gauntlgrym" quest came to the fore and he completely ignored published Realms canon regarding that place. That and a city of orcs and dwarves living in harmony with a German name - who can ever forget Baffenburg - that he never explained or returned to in his writings, and I was done. People consider him one of the greatest Realms writers. I merely consider him to be the most arrogant. His assertion that he teamed up with Ed to "save the Realms" when 4E was unveiled rings so hollow as to be laughable. He did indeed set out to save something: his cash cow in the characters he had created and kept going to the well with, over and over. And that's how the self-indulgent "The Companions", which had absolutely zero to do with the Sundering but everything to do with getting his characters into the 5E Realms, came to be. Can't be bothered even caring what he writes or doesn't write anymore - it's certainly not to the benefit of the Realms.
Drizztsmanchild Posted - 15 Sep 2019 : 11:02:07
Sadly and its been this way for a while nowfor the novels...there really isn't a shared world anymore. I would love authors like Ed,Elaine, Troy and plenty others to rreturn and write again in this world. But its only Bob for now.
I get the whole pet peeve with Bob not sticking exactly to whatever lore is out there in the campaign books ,monster manuals ,etc... but he has been this way from the start and while I am not certain if it still true,I do recall somewhere that what he writes most of the time becomes lore or canon. Again I could be wrong and its changed. Feel free to correct me if needed. Also has anyone bothered to ask Bob himself about this? I follow him on FB and if you message him he does reply after a bit. As long as it doesn't seem like you're attacking him. He's quite cordial.

Book thought. I wonder why Drizzt didn't go to the astral plane with Guen to avoid the retriever.
Irennan Posted - 14 Sep 2019 : 16:26:13
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
Fantasy doesn't just allow you to throw everything to the breeze, especially if you are writing in a shared setting.



This. Sadly, this mentality, and fans jumping to defend it, has generated a lot of trash.
CorellonsDevout Posted - 14 Sep 2019 : 16:14:10
I agree with what Irennan said. It isn't about the mechanics of the game. It's about the lore of the setting. Bob can do whatever he wants in Corona, and at his own gaming table. But he is writing in a shared setting--and as the only currently even writing FR novels, he should adhere to canon a little more. But instead, he plays in the sandbox and throws the sand. I doubt he does this in Corona. He gave the world and established history, lore, etc. I am sure he adheres to it. He should do the same with the Realms.

For example, in Boundless, there have been perfect opportunities to bring up Eilistraee or Vhaeraun, with all the talk of goodly drow. As much as Bob deals with dark elves, one would think he would at least acknowledge the rest of the pantheon. But nope! He also (and I noticed this particularly in Boundless) presents characters of faith as somehow ignorant or less intelligent. He doesn't directly say this, of course, but that is how the characters are presented (and I don't just mean Lolthites). Uh...what? I am not a religious person, but in the context of the setting, the gods are very real and active, with most Faerunians being either polytheistic or having a defined patron god (like clerics). But Bob's handling of this is not only insulting to the setting, but to the characters, as well.

Yes, it's a fantasy, but fantasy stories have (or should have) consistency. That is good writing. Look at all the fantasy worlds out there. All of them have an established setting and lore the authors adhere to. Tolkien didn't say, "actually, despite the fact that I have hitherto called it the Grey Havens, it's actually Pinkland, and you get there by going south, not west. Because I can." Fantasy doesn't just allow you to throw everything to the breeze, especially if you are writing in a shared setting.

Irennan Posted - 14 Sep 2019 : 14:54:51
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild

Just a note when it comes to Bob's books. He doesn't often adhere to the rules of playing the game. So if you're starting to read his nivels expecting him to follow the rules exactly, you're gonna end up being disappointed. Take the novels for what they are. A fantasy story. #128521;



This is not about game rules (in the lore, retriveres are nowhere near a demon lord in terms of power); this is about 1)internal consistency (I explained it in my other post), 2)adherance and respect for the lore of the world he's using and that he *didn't create*, but that allowed him to get where he is. 3)quality. "It's fantasy" is such a poor excuse to justify cheap narrative choices, because otherwise that would mean that fantasy is just a random cesspool of ideas where coherence and development and worldbuilding don't matter. A lot of stories tell you otherwise.

The "meh, this is good enough" mentality inevitably leads to a slippery slope in quality, and is (in all honesty) a lowkey insult to the readers' intelligence (a sort of "yeah, they'll eat--and, most importantly, buy--anything I throw at them anyway" attitude, especially when it involves problems of internal consistency). It's a sign of no longer having any f***s to give about the story itself (and before someone says "duh, what do you expect"; ofc writers need profit, but good stories happen because you aren't *only* aiming to profit, but also to telling a good story).
Drizztsmanchild Posted - 14 Sep 2019 : 11:47:52
Just a note when it comes to Bob's books. He doesn't often adhere to the rules of playing the game. So if you're starting to read his nivels expecting him to follow the rules exactly, you're gonna end up being disappointed. Take the novels for what they are. A fantasy story. #128521;
jmason107 Posted - 13 Sep 2019 : 23:03:16
Now that I think about it as one of the parts of the ending of Timeless, Kane did demonstrate his “ghost step” to Drizzt it makes sense that Kane ensured he mastered it, or was close to doing so before he left. I think Kane realizes that both he and Drizzt did share perfect discipline and I would put Artemis and Zaknafein in this category but each chose his own path, Monk, Ranger, Assassin and weapons master respectively.
sno4wy Posted - 13 Sep 2019 : 22:30:50
I'd give Boundless 2 stars out of 5. I'm predicting that the next book will be called "Endless", just like this series. It's really past the point of beating the dead horse with a stick.

There's a scene in which Dahlia smacks a guard with her nunchaku and Bob's metaphor for it is that it's as though the guard was stepped on by a tarrasque.

Um, no. Especially since the guard was still alive after that. That metaphor embodies the quality of Boundless in a nutshell.
Irennan Posted - 13 Sep 2019 : 14:27:14
quote:
Originally posted by jmason107

Haven’t read in its entirety yet just perused through it earlier at B&N and I believe that Kane helped Drizzt somehow at the end similar to when he did with Afanfere (spelling?) when he killed the younger white dragon. Drizzt Do’Urden as a master swordsman with monk abilities is going to be pretty OP but he’s going against balors and even more powerful creatures solo. He needs to have some new abilities especially against those constructs which seem close to demon lord level of power the way Yvonnel spoke. I can’t wait to actually sit and read through it as there was much going on with a whole host of characters. It definitely set up book 3 well. I would like to see Gromph obliterate Quenthel finally that would be a nice twist.



The constructs are mere retrievers, a CR 14 monster, nowhere near a demon lord in power, but for some reason RAS depicts them as insanely powerful. Also, the fact that Lolth needed to do the whole mess to send the demon lords out of the Abyss, because she couldn't have taken on them directly, and was portrayed as afraid to face Demogorgon, but now she suddenly has *multiple* demon-lord like constructs at her service, is frankly stupid. That's a problem of escalation (like this came straight out of Dragonball or some story with equally ludicrous escalation issues), of internal consistency, and of basic respect for the world and lore (even though the latter is basically a tradition in RAS' stuff, like when he said that Thultanthar fell on the Anauroch).

He fell in the trap that so many stories fall into: endless, ridiculous escalation. The focus is no longer on character's development and issues (and when it is, it's on random,l artificial conflicts that just feel wrong, like Drizzt's "madness" and suddenly doubting everything, even though that's something that his character has already solved, so going over it again is just artificial conflict), but on getting that sweet power up to face the next hyper powerful baddy. This happens when you don't set and show to the readers a clear goal from the beginning of the story, so you need ever escalating threats to create conflict and tension. IMO, the longer you draw a story without having that clear set goal (and even then, you should be careful to not eternally move it away, because otherwise it becomes a meme), the more you risk to resort to this cheap narrative trick.

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