| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 23 Jun 2004 : 17:46:18
Lady of Poison, the first novel in the Priests series, is being listed as available by some of the online book dealers. I wanted to give a heads up to others with this thread so they can look for it at their local store.
I'm very curious to see what others think about this novel first before I make a decision on buying it. Thus, once you've started reading the book, please come back and share your thoughts. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| shuman |
Posted - 31 Jan 2007 : 01:32:37
Someone posted a link to a character write up for Marrec. The link no longer is active with WOTC. Could someone please repost these here or give me another link that works? Thanks. |
| RodOdom |
Posted - 19 Dec 2006 : 16:58:15
I enjoyed this book. One of my few reservations is that the Rotting Man's lieutenants were overcome way too easily. |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 19 Dec 2006 : 12:34:14
how did you get the energy to go out and purchase a dog? |
| quajack |
Posted - 18 Dec 2006 : 17:24:13
I'm not sure you all truly appreciate the lengths I go through to maintain my laziness. As I type this, my dog is pulling off my shoe so that I won't have to bend down slightly. |
| Kajehase |
Posted - 13 Dec 2006 : 16:58:31
If you're truly that lazy you should really just have to suck it up. It's a five seconds operation for Gond's sake! |
| quajack |
Posted - 11 Dec 2006 : 18:43:33
Can't someone else ask Ed for me and then post the results here. For Gods' sake don't you realize how lazy I am? Please enable me! |
| Kuje |
Posted - 11 Dec 2006 : 18:23:57
quote:
Originally posted by quajack
I'm not all that tight with Ed, so any info presented by other Candlekeep affiliates woud be greatly appreciated. IE: is Osse located in that mysterious, unknown continent that at first glimpse looks like nothern Africa? You know, the one directly below the Utter East referred to as "New Lands." Is this where Osse is? Is it? And if anyone could plese tell me which, if any, novels also refer to this elusive land.
Well,
A lot of us aren't "tight" with Ed and that's why there's his scroll over in that part of the forums. Other then that brief mention in that novel, there's no other lore about that part of the world.
So, as was said, you are better off going to ask Ed in his scroll. |
| quajack |
Posted - 11 Dec 2006 : 18:20:15
I'm not all that tight with Ed, so any info presented by other Candlekeep affiliates woud be greatly appreciated. IE: is Osse located in that mysterious, unknown continent that at first glimpse looks like nothern Africa? You know, the one directly below the Utter East referred to as "New Lands." Is this where Osse is? Is it? And if anyone could plese tell me which, if any, novels also refer to this elusive land. |
| Besshalar |
Posted - 11 Dec 2006 : 17:33:58
It's one of the continents that hasn't been detailed but which has been mentioned a few times. It's as said far to the south. I'd guess you're best chance of learning more would be to ask Ed . |
| quajack |
Posted - 11 Dec 2006 : 17:10:44
Okay. I just finished reading all 4 pages about this topic. Several times it was asked: Where is Osse? (the land from whence Gunny, the Oslander), hails. It was describes as being far to the South, "beneath the girdle of the world."
Will someone please answer me, where is the Faeurian Austrilia?!?!? |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 04 Sep 2006 : 03:13:12
quote:
Originally posted by Kameron M. Franklin
Heh, one of the concerns I had with setting Maiden in Luthcheq was that the city was very human-centric, which would make it hard to justify the inclusion of "exotics." I figured FR fans would be disappointed with the lack of non-human characters. Fortunately, there are a couple of lycanthrope communities in the nearby Adder Swamp . . . .   
I for one don't mind a story full of humans. Sure, "exotics" can be fun. But sometimes they can seem contrived. I don't like it when exotics are placed in a novel just so we could have an exotic.
As for your book, (which I enjoyed very much I hope another is on the way) the were-crocs fit the mood and were an interesting diversion. |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 24 Aug 2006 : 01:10:36
quote:
Originally posted by Lysan Lurraxol
I liked Lady of Poison, despite its Lord of the Ringsy feel. The characters were good, apart from Marrec, I HATE dull, male, warrior/ priest protagonists, I find them intolerable. Ok, he's not quite as bad as Kelemvor, but Marrec's still bland.
Gunny and Elowen were interesting, but Ususi had the most depth, I thought. apparently so did Mr Cordell, given Darkvision's about her.
Just my two pence.
Edit: Couldn't say dull twice.
I see your point about Merrec to a small extent, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt since he spent 90% of thr book carrying the burden of killing not only his mentor, but the first and until late in the book, only person to accept him for who he is and not "what" he is.
I just saw that as a burden that would suck the life out of most any of us. I hope if he does reappear in Darkvision(or anyhting else) he shows the appropriate growth. |
| Lysan Lurraxol |
Posted - 23 Aug 2006 : 14:09:13
I liked Lady of Poison, despite its Lord of the Ringsy feel. The characters were good, apart from Marrec, I HATE dull, male, warrior/ priest protagonists, I find them intolerable. Ok, he's not quite as bad as Kelemvor, but Marrec's still bland.
Gunny and Elowen were interesting, but Ususi had the most depth, I thought. apparently so did Mr Cordell, given Darkvision's about her.
Just my two pence.
Edit: Couldn't say dull twice. |
| Chosen of Moradin |
Posted - 23 Aug 2006 : 13:36:34
I just finished this book, too (thanks for the kind scribes that point it to me).
I find it a very good read. Marrec is a good character, and the story of redemption and self-aceptance have a good grasp in me. 
Gunny was interesting, too. I came to accept Gnny as what he is: the loyal friend of Marrec, donīt matter is he is a Chultan or an Oslander
And I find Ususi very interesting, too. I pretend to buy soon the Darkvision next month.  |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 23 Aug 2006 : 04:07:06
quote:
Originally posted by Zephyr
One more thing... there is a sentence that is confusing me and I thought maybe someone could clarify its meaning. It can be found on page 271. It reads, "There was an arch that still stood, but it looked upon an empty cinder, flooded with foul water." Is he saying that the arch was flooded with foul water and that it overlooked an empty cinder? As far as I know, a cinder is a piece of coal or wood that is no longer combustible. I don't understand what this means... yes, these are the types of things that irk me. Help!!!
Zephyr
Just read this book(better late than never) and I really enjoyed it.
That passage bugged the heck out of me until I remebered my Grandmother telling me about getting fresh rainwater out of the Cistern. That had to be what he meant.
I really liked all the characters, even Gunny once I got over the hillarity of Osland and Dizheri!
Also very glad to see Ususi is getting her own novel with Darkvision.
I wonder if it is set before this book or after, since the ending makes clear that the 4 will be traveling the lengths of the realms together.
|
| Kuje |
Posted - 01 Jul 2005 : 05:00:26
quote:
Originally posted by Bane_the_Dark_LordI'm just trying to get an idea if he is raving crazy or if he is carefully planning and controlled crazy (with possible bursts of raving) 
I like this one better then the other one. :) |
| Bane_the_Dark_Lord |
Posted - 01 Jul 2005 : 04:44:31
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Bah, you didn't harass me. :)
Nay this book was set hmmm 4 or 5 or 6 years before 1380 and 1384 so I think he could have enough time to rebuild those he lost. As to his mental health, well he is corrupted by Talona.... :) That'll make a lot of people nuts.
Well I figure he is mad as a hatter. I'm just trying to get an idea if he is raving crazy or if he is carefully planning and controlled crazy (with possible bursts of raving) |
| Kuje |
Posted - 01 Jul 2005 : 04:41:23
quote:
Originally posted by Bane_the_Dark_Lord
This isn't my first time here but I can't remember my old user name sooo....
I harassed Kuja about this on the WotC boards. I figuerd I'd wander over here to ask more questions.
I plan to run a set of two campaigns the revolve around the Blightlords. One is set in 1380 and the other in 1383.
Would the events of this book cause any possible stories to fall through? I was told the Rotting Man does not perish but loses a large number of his minions. Is his threat disposed of or could he rebuild in the years before the ones I mentioned? Also what was the Rotting Man's personality like? Completely nuts? Disgusting? etc.
You can give spoilers freely.(I will get the book but not for another two weeks and have to finish a few more before I read it and want to kick off my game)
Thank you in advance!
Bah, you didn't harass me. :)
Nay this book was set hmmm 4 or 5 or 6 years before 1380 and 1384 so I think he could have enough time to rebuild those he lost. As to his mental health, well he is corrupted by Talona.... :) That'll make a lot of people nuts. |
| Bane_the_Dark_Lord |
Posted - 01 Jul 2005 : 04:23:52
This isn't my first time here but I can't remember my old user name sooo....
I harassed Kuja about this on the WotC boards. I figuerd I'd wander over here to ask more questions.
I plan to run a set of two campaigns the revolve around the Blightlords. One is set in 1380 and the other in 1383.
Would the events of this book cause any possible stories to fall through? I was told the Rotting Man does not perish but loses a large number of his minions. Is his threat disposed of or could he rebuild in the years before the ones I mentioned? Also what was the Rotting Man's personality like? Completely nuts? Disgusting? etc.
You can give spoilers freely.(I will get the book but not for another two weeks and have to finish a few more before I read it and want to kick off my game)
Thank you in advance!
|
| Jindael |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 04:18:26
Yes, she is. It's an even party split, gender-wise.
And, even though I absolutely loved the books on Finder, I think that if he didn't have a Novel about him, he would have lasted about 20 seconds as a god before some other deity ate up all those tastey Moander portfolios. |
| Askanipsion |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 04:10:52
quote:
Doesn't really answer the question, since I asked why you don't like him. :) But this is getting off topic since this is about a different novel. :)
Always found him kinda boring.
So who does the party consist of in this book? Is the Deep Imaskari a female in the book? |
| Kuje |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 01:33:44
quote:
Originally posted by Askanipsion
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Why? There's nothing wrong with Finder. I prefer him over Lloth.
Never liked him. He is my least favorite diety of the human FR gods.
Doesn't really answer the question, since I asked why you don't like him. :) But this is getting off topic since this is about a different novel. :) |
| Askanipsion |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 01:17:22
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Why? There's nothing wrong with Finder. I prefer him over Lloth.
Never liked him. He is my least favorite diety of the human FR gods. |
| Kuje |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 07:05:05
quote:
Originally posted by Askanipsion
quote:
No. Alac was being sarcastic. :) Lolth didn't kill Lurue. :)
Geez I thought I had missed an appearance of the lovely Spider Queen. Now if only Lolth would kill Finder.....
Why? There's nothing wrong with Finder. I prefer him over Lloth. |
| Askanipsion |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 05:33:54
quote:
No. Alac was being sarcastic. :) Lolth didn't kill Lurue. :)
Geez I thought I had missed an appearance of the lovely Spider Queen. Now if only Lolth would kill Finder..... |
| The Sage |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 04:59:08
Speaking of Lurue, I've always wondered about Ed's original interpretation. I recall that he said something about his original conception of her as being hardly similar to what we know of Lurue in the Realms today.
|
| Kuje |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 04:46:57
quote:
Originally posted by Askanipsion
quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
It seems so, we got Lloth and now Lurue not answering thier faithful. Grin.
Oh my, Lolth killed Lurue durring the time of trubbles, and has been granting spells in both thier names since that time.
And as she has been poseing as Lurue, she has become a nature deity so that explaines the Druid of Lolyh I saw from WotC.
Lolth really killed her?? Is this the 1st time it has been mentioned?
No. Alac was being sarcastic. :) Lolth didn't kill Lurue. :) |
| Askanipsion |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 04:40:19
quote:
Originally posted by AlacLuin
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
It seems so, we got Lloth and now Lurue not answering thier faithful. Grin.
Oh my, Lolth killed Lurue durring the time of trubbles, and has been granting spells in both thier names since that time.
And as she has been poseing as Lurue, she has become a nature deity so that explaines the Druid of Lolyh I saw from WotC.
Lolth really killed her?? Is this the 1st time it has been mentioned? |
| Jindael |
Posted - 27 Apr 2005 : 23:40:00
I don't think I missed it in the thread, but if I did, someone can freely point out my ignorance:
What was Gunny? Where was he from (besides "Osland" or whatever it was called.) Never heard of his type before. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 05 Feb 2005 : 04:23:49
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
To echo most of the other comments on this thread, I thought this was a pretty average effort. It reinforced some of the impressions I am getting about the "newer" FR novelists, chief of which seems to be: the more exotic your character is the more interesting it is for the reader. With the advent of FR 3E we are getting Arctic dwarves, Deep Imaskari, avariel, exotic Osslanders (wherever that is ...), people with medusa blood in them, etc. etc. It's like the authors went to the Monty Haul school of writing with "different" being equated to originality. As a trend, it's really putting me off the new FR novels that are coming out.
I agree, though not without some reservations. For example, I loved Marrec's backstory--to me the flashback scenes weren't merely more interesting than the first part of the plot, they were probably more interesting than most of the main plot...of the whole book. The Arctic dwarf didn't really bother me--while reading the Rogue Dragons books, I thought to myself, "There's nothing wrong if this arctic dwarf is simply allowed to exist, as a dwarf, in the novel." Does he have to act as a representive of his race, or can he just be a person? There was, after all, the Great Glacier nearby, and Mr. Byers paid attention to details (the arctic dwarf--I forgot his name--doesn't suddenly have standard dwarven tunnel knowledge after living on a glacier all his life). Exotic characters don't bother me when they are written well, just like any other character. But I wholeheartedly agree that simply making a character "unique" isn't going to make them interesting to read about. I love Ed Greenwood's books, and they are very human-centric; who says humans are more boring than other races? I don't care if a book features only humans in it, as long as those humans are well-characterized and fun to read about.
Back to Lady of Poison. I just finished it, and overall I think Mr Cordell has a very, very nice style of writing, considering that it's his second novel. I feel his prose is that of a fine writer. The atmosphere he sets up in the beginning of the book is suitably creepy, especially when Marrec thinks about his past and his heritage. I still have niggling questions about it in the back of my mind, but maybe it's better that not everything is explained.
I liked how the book built strongly on what was in the Unapproachable East sourcebook, however, I feel that at times the novel relied on it *too* much. Some of the descriptions of places were, in fact, lifted almost word for word from the sourcebook (for example, the description of the Netyarch's court). Mr. Cordell is obviously skilled at writing, so I felt he sold himself short by doing that--it came across as rather corny. |
