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initiate
Learned Scribe
Canada
102 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Mar 2007 : 02:52:18
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No tomato-hurling for me either, though I thought I'd add some ramblings as "Blackstaff" is in many ways such a significant book. Its been a few months since I read the novel, but I thought I might as well throw in my two cents, (or twenty-five, as the case may be), particularly in response to some of the points Kyrene raises above.
I notice that we're discussing this in the "Chapter 18 27" thread rather than the "Chapter 28 40" book club for some reason. Thus, there are some spoilers contained herein.
As to the main characters, I very much enjoyed the portrayal of Khelben, who is, after all, the focus of the novel. The book shows us several different aspects of the Blackstaff's multifaceted character, and Mr. Schend does this, to my mind at least, very well within such a limited space. Myself, I would have liked direct access to Khelben's thoughts beyond the flash-back sequences, but that's an authorial decision, and it does serve the purpose of keeping many of Khelben's actions suitably enigmatic. (What, after all, would the Blackstaff be without his secrets?) As to Khelben's fate, while it saddened me, I thought that it was handled extremely well, with the right mixture of tragedy and resignation and all that kind of stuff. I would have liked to see such a significant sacrifice dwelt on even a little more than it was, including more time spent with Laeral at the end of the book and, as others have mentioned, a chance to see Piergeiron's grief.
As for Tsarra, there are aspects of her character and the way its revealed that I liked allot. One of these is the author's repeated high-lighting of the ways in which she and Khelben are of like temperament. I did find her a little overly inclined to whine on occasion, but that's just my personal opinion, and she did have it pretty tough. However, (though I may be forgetting crucial details), it strikes me that in the grand scheme of things, beyond one or two vital actions, she didn't really do allot. She was an interesting character, and I enjoyed watching Khelben groom her as his apprentice and successor, but considering her role placing almost ninety percent of the narration of the story solely on her shoulders is an authorial decision that will work for some and not for others. As to her relationship with Rhaegar, I could see it developing over time, (thus becoming something to be expounded on in future stories about these characters), but as it is it seemed to just be there because its the kind of thing that happens in books. Speaking of Rhaegar, I didn't mind him, but thought that more space was needed to do him justice.
As for the villain, Priamon Rakesk, I have to agree with Rinnonalyrna Fathomlin that he wasn't the highlight of the novel for me, but I did find him interesting in so far as he was a former apprentice of the Blackstaff and is now the Frostrune of the Twisted Rune, an organization about which I know very little. He is certainly not an insignificant lich, as from what little I know the Twisted Rune is a relatively select group, and as KEJR pointed out, he did play a significant part in abducting Halaster Blackcloak, a wizard most certainly not to be messed around with. I could have done with a little more grounding in his activities since leaving Khelben, such as his involvement in Halaster's Highharvestide, but the succinct summaries that the author provides inform the reader perfectly well for the purposes of the novel in my opinion.
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initiate
Learned Scribe
Canada
102 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2007 : 02:59:25
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Kyrene talked about having problems with the many cameo appearances throughout "Blackstaff", which I find interesting because this was one of the things about which I was most concerned before picking up the book. This was not because I feared their use as "padding" as Kyrene puts it; (I am generally more concerned about Realms novels being by necessity to condensed as opposed to the reverse); but I thought the cameos might make the novel less accessible to me as a relative newcomer. I had huge, huge problems of this sort related to "Elminster in Hell" and several other novels. Perhaps I am now slightly more knowledgeable in Realmslore, or simply not as bothered, but I don't think that this book relies on references to older, less popularized lore to an extent which makes lack of knowledge crippling. I am unfamiliar, for instance, with the lore regarding Malchor Harpell and Gamalon of Tethyr, but I found that the author managed to weave their threads into the larger picture in such a way that full knowledge of their previous stories was a bonus rather than a necessity. Where I new the characters eluded to, (Sememmon and Ashemi, for instance), I took particular enjoyment in seeing them again, but when I did not, while it was a little bit frustrating, it didn't lessen my understanding of the here-and-now essential story. That being said, I think that this heavy use of some of the less well-known figures from Realmslore does give the novel greater significance for those long studied in the Realms than for those such as myself who are newer to the setting. Mr. Schend's relatively quick passage over many of the figures from lore prevents lack of knowledge thereof from derailing the story, but it also prevents us from growing to know them more than passing well within the context of the novel and that's a shame. Newer readers are sometimes unable to fully appreciate the depth and, in many cases, length of the stories which are enlarged and,/or concluded in the novel. It occurs to me that a glossary, (not an exhaustive one, just enough to be functional), of characters and events might have served the novel well but, hark ye to the editors' decree: a Realms novel may exceed 352 pages only once err every Shieldmeet, (or something of that sort.) A shame. Overall, while I sometimes wished for more detail in these cameo appearances, I would not have them other than how they are if changing them meant cutting material from the book. Much of "Blackstaff's charm, what makes it in my mind significant, is the extent to which it is rooted in Realmslore.
I really liked the book's plot, delighting in rather than being frustrated by the occasional difficulty in following its lore-rich story. I thought that the flashback sequences served Steven Schend particularly well as ways to slip in lore about Khelben's previous lives, and he managed to keep them remarkably tied to the central plot. Some of the events and revelations in the novel seemed somewhat sudden, (unlike the Rage of Dragons and Sarya Dlardrageth's feyri crusade, which were hinted at in the FRCS and Races of Faerun), but really slot into Realmslore very well in my humble opinion. I also found that things such as the nature of the Sharn and Miyeritar came as true revelations, rather than things heralded by former products. Like KEJR I don't agree that all RSEs are directly tied to Realms products, and it was nice to see some lore that is in all ways new mixed in. (It could be, of course, that I've just missed the relevant lore.)
Stylistically speaking, one thing that threw me off quite a bit the (very) few times it arose was the use of words that could be considered modern day colloquialisms like "weird" and particularly "stuff". It didn't happen often, and was pretty much confined to the dialogue of younger characters, so it could be passed over as the use of equivalent slang terms, but it certainly did disorient me. I just wasn't expecting it and thought it broke the tone of the book.
So there, after over a thousand words, I liked it. I didn't think it was perfect, but I certainly found it very enjoyable, and most definitely rich in lore.
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2007 : 03:11:17
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| Well, to be fair, "weird" and "stuff" are both formal and legitimate words, not slang (although I don't recall how they were used in the novel). Nevertheless I enjoyed your comments, initiate, and for the most part I agree with them. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
727 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2007 : 05:17:48
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Edit: I know it is extremely bad netiquette to edit a post after the fact, when that editing removes the whole content. I should not have risen to KEJR's bait, and therefore feel I commit less of a netiquette breach by removing my response, than by leaving it here. My apologies to all who had their feathers ruffled by this response, and to KEJR in particular if anything I said offended him/her/it.
I thus let my original critique stand (or fall) on its own. |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Edited by - Kyrene on 07 Mar 2007 05:39:08 |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
727 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2007 : 05:21:58
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quote:
Originally posted by initiate
I notice that we're discussing this in the "Chapter 18 27" thread rather than the "Chapter 28 40" book club for some reason. Thus, there are some spoilers contained herein.
To use the vernacular: "My Bad!"
I was desperately looking for http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7224, but somehow missed it, and forgot to use the search function... 
Ye gods was it really 40 chapters worth...  |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Edited by - Kyrene on 06 Mar 2007 05:29:47 |
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Rowan
Acolyte
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2007 : 18:05:55
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I don't think Blackstaff is really, truly Azoun IV-type dead. He most likely saw this coming decades ago and prepared for it, maybe even pulled a Manshoon.
My money would be on him being discovered as an amnesiac beggar in Cormyr months after the end of the book.
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Blackstaff: Chapters 18 - 27
