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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 05 Sep 2016 :  04:50:42  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I finished The Lost Library of Cormanthyr. This is the first Mel Odom offering I've read, and I mostly liked it. To get the bad out of the way first, the names were awful. Most of the drow were just a collection of consonants with apostrophes every few letters, like "Nnv'sts'rkt or whatever (I made that one up). They looked/sounded more like thri-kreen names than drow to me. Several of the major players also had odd or unwieldy names - Closl, Vaggit, Faimcir, Fannt, Keraqt, and Cthulad. The last one sounds more like some Far Realm, Lovecraftian horror than a ranger. The worst, by far, was the baelnorn named... wait for it... Nevft Scoontiphp... See what I mean about random consonants? That name is just brutal all around. I also found the main hero's habit of going into most combats without a weapon, and then hoping to disarm and steal his first opponent's weapon, a bit annoying and just plain unnecessary. I get the author wanted to make him a quick-thinking protagonist that improvises solutions on the fly like MacGuyver, and also show him to be a well-rounded combatant trained in multiple styles/armaments, but it wore thin.

That out of the way, I liked the overall vibe and writing. The dialogue was well done, the characters and plot interesting enough. Baylee has a bit of a young Indiana Jones thing going, very idealistic and headstrong "That idol belongs in a museum, Belloq!" He and his pet bat are both likeable protagonists, as is the young watch captain assigned to keep track of him (much to her dismay). And Odom surprised me at the end by not having everything work out perfectly for the heroes, it was actually a bit of a downer that the bad guy pretty much achieved most of his goals, other than killing Baylee. I wonder if this was done to set up a sequel, or if Odom just wanted to end it in an unpredictable manner. Overall it was a pretty good book, not without some warts, but a solid effort.

Up next is Evermeet: Island of Elves which I am very excited for.

Edited by - VikingLegion on 05 Sep 2016 04:54:08
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Irennan
Great Reader

Italy
3802 Posts

Posted - 05 Sep 2016 :  11:08:35  Show Profile Send Irennan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Evermeet is one of my favourites. So much insight into the elves there, including their history and that of the elven and drow deities.

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.

Edited by - Irennan on 05 Sep 2016 11:09:23
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 05 Sep 2016 :  17:50:06  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't get Evermeet's invasion though. The whole thing about the gold elf getting out of Harper prison and somehow getting a huge army with massive ships to cross the huge magically hidden parts of the ocean to invade is ludicrous and never sat with me. I like all the history in Evermeet and back story stuff, but the premise of the invasion was stupid to me. Oh...yeah..."Lolth did it" or whatever. Why didn't any of the good elf gods interfere to stop the invasion from starting if Lolth got involved to make it start? It was hardly something that could have been hidden. Ugh. I don't know, maybe someone can explain to me that part. I didn't get it.
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 05 Sep 2016 :  18:01:17  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

I don't get Evermeet's invasion though. The whole thing about the gold elf getting out of Harper prison and somehow getting a huge army with massive ships to cross the huge magically hidden parts of the ocean to invade is ludicrous and never sat with me. I like all the history in Evermeet and back story stuff, but the premise of the invasion was stupid to me. Oh...yeah..."Lolth did it" or whatever. Why didn't any of the good elf gods interfere to stop the invasion from starting if Lolth got involved to make it start? It was hardly something that could have been hidden. Ugh. I don't know, maybe someone can explain to me that part. I didn't get it.




My train of thoughts exactly for anything involving the gods, and its why im busy replacing all godly actions with people actions (devoted people, but still people).


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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2016 :  21:37:24  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I finished Evermeet, Island of Elves last night. Seravin, I can't answer your question, it seems like the answer in a lot of stories is a /handwave and a "the gods willed it so". Some random thoughts:

How could any opponent EVER defeat a scrag underwater? Fire is no option, acid would disperse. The only creature capable of defeating a sea troll would be a leviathan or something that can swallow it entirely and then digest it. Scrags should be the absolute, undisputed dominant race of the oceans. Also I've never liked the line of thinking that a troll (of any variety) getting chopped to several pieces then forms multiple trolls. The parts crawling back together to knit I'm fine with, but a severed foot re-growing a whole new body is just dumb. What is it using as a source of energy and raw mass to build all that flesh? Does it have a soul? What personality would it have once fully formed? An exact replica of the initial troll? Maybe it should work like that Michael Keaton movie with the clones - each one gets successively dumber, less capable.

Ok, enough of trolls. The book was very good, as is just about everything Elaine does. I thought the scene where Rolim and Ava heed the call to Arvandor was particularly beautifully written. I will confess to being confused at times, what with the chronology jumping around a bit. They always seemed to be under attack - dragons, drow, sahuagin, scrags, dragon turtles, human pirates, the elf-eater, all the invasion(s) blurred together a bit.

Also, at times, I found myself hoping the elves would just lose and get wiped out. They were so damned petty, haughty, manipulative - I tend to think of Evermeet as this haven that older, wiser elves retreat to late in life, something like a heaven on earth for the deserving that would weed out the dirtbags. It's a shame the moonblade "worthiness" trial couldn't be toned down a bit in severity and applied to every elf on the island, to force exile on the crappy elves who would sell out their own kind for personal gain.

That last bit about founding a new isolated elf retreat north of the Spine of the Mountains was very interesting. I'm curious if that has been followed up on in later lore. Something for me to keep an eye out for.

Next up is another anthology: Realms of Mystery to be started later this week.
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 11 Sep 2016 :  22:38:38  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Darn. Was hoping you'd have a feisty explanation. I get that Lolth would be wanting to hurt the elves; not sure why she would be allowed to do so much damage and the good elf gods just sit back and say "eh...what are you gonna do". If evil gods get involved, it stretches credulity to the breaking point that good gods don't at least TRY to stop them. Isn't that the whole point of having good and evil gods? Ugh. Sorry, Evermeet was a fail for me but everything else Elaine does I am totally in love with.
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Mirtek
Senior Scribe

595 Posts

Posted - 12 Sep 2016 :  11:38:00  Show Profile Send Mirtek a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by VikingLegion:
How could any opponent EVER defeat a scrag underwater? Fire is no option, acid would disperse.
Actually both acid and heat would work. You would just need to be closer/quicker in applying them.

Acid disperses, but no immediately. If you smash a vial of acid against a scrag underwater, you briefly have a drifting cloud of acid before it's dispersed.

Same with heat, which will be cooled eventually, but for some time can be enough to burn a scrag underwater.
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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2016 :  03:55:28  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

Darn. Was hoping you'd have a feisty explanation. I get that Lolth would be wanting to hurt the elves; not sure why she would be allowed to do so much damage and the good elf gods just sit back and say "eh...what are you gonna do". If evil gods get involved, it stretches credulity to the breaking point that good gods don't at least TRY to stop them. Isn't that the whole point of having good and evil gods? Ugh. Sorry, Evermeet was a fail for me but everything else Elaine does I am totally in love with.



Yeah, sorry, I don't have much of a counterpoint for that. I'll make a half-hearted attempt though with this angle:

Have you ever wondered why elven society (and other long-lived creatures) aren't absolutely filled with insanely high level characters? With all that time on their hands, shouldn't an elven mage with decades, or even hundreds of years of training far outstrip his human counterparts? This has often been explained as humans, with their shorter lifespans, having a burning desire to advance much faster. So on the other hand, elves and dragons and so on feel like they have forever to accomplish their goals and therefore go about everything with a more languid, unconcerned pace until time becomes a critical factor (like every paper I've ever written for school!)

Apply that to true immortals and maybe it's just a matter of slow response time. In the original Moonshae trilogy, Niles did an excellent job of describing the Earth Mother's difficulty in rousing herself from slumber. Her lands, her "body" was being destroyed right in front of her and still it took a monumental effort shake off the torpor. I remember as a teen being so frustrated that Kazgaroth was despoiling the isles and she's acting like it's a Sunday morning in bed when the temperature is perfect and you're so cozy you just can't get up.

Another partial explanation for evil plots usually having good initial success is that it's easier for bad guys to focus on one thing. "Good" is generally more passive/reactive, whereas "Evil" often initiates. Consider national security; the defenders have to spread their attention among threats from the land, sea, and air, as well as cyber attacks, biologicals passed through the mail, and who knows how many other plots? Terrorists need only find one small chink in the armor and then spend as much time as they want crafting a plot to exploit that one small thing. Defenders cannot be on every front at all times at maximum strength, by necessity they have to spread out thin, but attackers can throw everything they have at a chosen area in one focused, specific assault, often with surprise on their side.

So those are my half-hearted attempts at explaining why the BBEGs of all worlds generally meet with some success, at least initially, until the good guys recover from the first butt-kicking, get their act together, and rally to drive out the villains.
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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2016 :  04:02:09  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

I don't get Evermeet's invasion though. The whole thing about the gold elf getting out of Harper prison and somehow getting a huge army with massive ships to cross the huge magically hidden parts of the ocean to invade is ludicrous and never sat with me. I like all the history in Evermeet and back story stuff, but the premise of the invasion was stupid to me. Oh...yeah..."Lolth did it" or whatever. Why didn't any of the good elf gods interfere to stop the invasion from starting if Lolth got involved to make it start? It was hardly something that could have been hidden. Ugh. I don't know, maybe someone can explain to me that part. I didn't get it.



The book did mention that Kymil Nimesin had a wide network of malcontents and dissidents set up all over Faerun, not just an agent or two in Evermeet or Cormanthyr. I imagine they were setup in several cells all over the mainland, so I don't think his army exactly materialized out of thin air. Also, he and the prince had an absolutely massive fortune (described as several dragon hoards) stored in a secret cache that he used to finance the remainder - mercenaries will fight for whoever has the coin.
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2016 :  14:31:33  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
But no one tried to stop him, and the elves were completely unaware until the dragon spotted the ships that ANYTHING was happening. An army being mobilized and built up with a huge navy like that would NOT BE A SECRET from anyone; and also the whole thing with Lolth getting him out in the first place and helping him with all this. Why did the Harpers not rally to stop him? How many evil gold elves could there possibly be who would be willing to destroy their own homeland? It stretches my mind to think there would be more than a dozen or two at most given that this is totally against their nature and very nihilistic. Still not buying it.
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author

2394 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2016 :  14:51:41  Show Profile  Visit ElaineCunningham's Homepage  Reply with Quote
I've often wished I could do an expanded "director's cut" edition of EVERMEET that would spend more time on the battle, its build-up, and its aftermath. These are all good questions, and they should have had better answers.

Edited by - ElaineCunningham on 14 Sep 2016 16:22:37
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BenN
Senior Scribe

Japan
382 Posts

Posted - 13 Sep 2016 :  15:23:01  Show Profile Send BenN a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham

I've often wished I could do an expanded "director's cut" edition of EVERMEET that would spend more time on the battle, its build-up, and its aftermath.


That would be awesome!
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2016 :  19:05:35  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Aw Elaine, that's very nice of you to come here and reply to an old curmudgeon like me :) If you're able to shed any light here without breaking some NDA or whatever secrecy you're supposed to keep about a decades old novel, would be great.

On the subject, why did the Harpers or the elves not kill Kymil Nimesin after the Harper Assassin trial that occured in Elfshadow? Let's look at his actions? Accessory to regicide, conspiring to kill the elf royalty in Evermeet, and the direct murder of ~20 Harpers. Contrast this with Finder Wyvernspur: he created Flattery, who due to his abuse killed one apprentice. Another apprentice killed herself because she was traumatized by the events. For this INDIRECT murder - Finder's name was wiped from all the Realms and he was banished for eternity to another plane in solitary confinement. Compared to Finder - Kymil's punishment was ridiculously light. And if the Harpers didn't kill him, why wouldn't the elves? His crimes against their royalty are something that would have them killed in almost any culture that didn't ban capital punishment. ALso - keeping Kymil alive so he could testify in a trial so Arylin didn't go to Harper jail seems a bit ridiculous given Danilo, Bran and Khelben would have said she was innocent. I'm pretty sure Bran and Khelben could reason with any Harper judges. Keeping Kymil alive has always struck me as contrivance.

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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2016 :  19:36:05  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I would say their punishments were similar. Both were basically imprisoned on another plane for the rest of time, and both were sent away knowing that their ultimate goal had failed. Finder wanted to be remembered forever -- so they took away and wiped out his name. Kymil wanted to see the royal family thrown down -- and he was imprisoned knowing he'd failed and that he'd never be able to attack them again.

Of course, in both cases, someone powerful and not from the Prime came along and made a mess of the Harpers's plans.... Maybe the Harpers need to rethink how they permanently imprison folks.

As for why the Harpers imprisoned Kymil instead of the elves... He killed more Harpers than royal elves, and I'd imagine the elves were simply glad to wash their hands of the distasteful business of elf killing elf. Also, they'd've had to put him on trial, which would have drawn more attention to him and his cause.

Of course, this is my thinking. Elaine may come along momentarily and say it's all osquip droppings, and give another set of reasons entirely.

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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 14 Sep 2016 19:37:09
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2016 :  20:31:00  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
1) Killing the king of the elves and a princess and plotting to kill the rest is arguably a greater crime than 20 harpers. 2) The harpers *do* use capital punishment against renegades. I get that imprisonment was the right choice over killing him for Finder as he was indirectly repsonsible for the deaths. For Kymil, his crimes warranted death. A lot more than other renegade Harpers who were sentenced to death just because they gave up their harper pin? (see Curse of the Shadowmage, for example)
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2016 :  20:38:42  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

(see Curse of the Shadowmage, for example)



Sorry, I'm not going to inflict that pain on myself.

...Though killing someone over giving away a pin seems way out of character for the Harpers.

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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 14 Sep 2016 20:39:44
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2016 :  20:42:39  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Haha bad Wooly - but yes, when Mari gives up the Harper pin they send someone to track and kill her...who evidently does this for a living. I believe he was a half-drow ranger? I'd have to dig it out. And Bran's job before the events of Elfshadow was to track down/hunt (and presumably kill in some cases) renegade Harpers. I don't think Harpers are against killing bad guys like Zhents or Cult agents, why would they be against killing a bad guy like Kymil who is arguably more evil than a regular Zhent or mercenary?

*edit* yes, from "Code of the Harpers" - "The Harpers police their own. A Harper who hears the call of personal power can no longer hear the sweet song of the Harp. A Harper who siezes power and holds it above all else, is a traitor to the Harp. Traitors must die, for freedom to live.

This is a warning: the Harpers kill traitors in their midst.
"

So yes, Harper protocol is to kill traitors. It makes zero sense that they imprisoned someone like Kymil who has probably the MOST crimes against Harpers and the elf people. I smell contrivance until proven otherwise :)

Edited by - Seravin on 14 Sep 2016 21:04:15
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2016 :  21:22:30  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

Haha bad Wooly - but yes, when Mari gives up the Harper pin they send someone to track and kill her...who evidently does this for a living. I believe he was a half-drow ranger? I'd have to dig it out. And Bran's job before the events of Elfshadow was to track down/hunt (and presumably kill in some cases) renegade Harpers. I don't think Harpers are against killing bad guys like Zhents or Cult agents, why would they be against killing a bad guy like Kymil who is arguably more evil than a regular Zhent or mercenary?

*edit* yes, from "Code of the Harpers" - "The Harpers police their own. A Harper who hears the call of personal power can no longer hear the sweet song of the Harp. A Harper who siezes power and holds it above all else, is a traitor to the Harp. Traitors must die, for freedom to live.

This is a warning: the Harpers kill traitors in their midst.
"

So yes, Harper protocol is to kill traitors. It makes zero sense that they imprisoned someone like Kymil who has probably the MOST crimes against Harpers and the elf people. I smell contrivance until proven otherwise :)




Giving away your pin does not make you a traitor. Bran Skorlsun gave away his, and it was considered a good thing.

And was Kymil actually a Harper?

Another possibility is that leaving him alive meant he could be interrogated in the future, if needs be, or that any contingencies he had set to go off on his death would not go off.

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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 14 Sep 2016 :  21:41:18  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Sorry, by "gives up the pin" I didn't mean giving away your pin to another - I meant renouncing your membership in the Harpers and aborting your mission. That's what Mari did and seemed to know the consequences was death--which ties into the Code of the Harper book.

For Kymil being a Harper - Kymil gave Arilyn her Harper missions and knew the names of all the Harpers...if he wasn't considered a Harper but was allowed to assign Harper missions to "Harper Agents" like Arilyn, and knew all the identities of the "secret" group that seems absurd. They also tried him in a Harper Tribunal--which would be reserved for trials of Harpers...so I am going to say he was at LEAST a de facto Harper.

He wasn't a powerful enough mage to have contingency spells by game stats, and even if he were, Khelben Arunsun would have been strong enough to deal with those and was personally involved. Also this is a world where speak with dead spells are available, so keeping him alive to ask him questions seems illogical. And keep in mind, he's killed 20 Harpers and was involved with regicide, and the Harpers send people to kill people who simply abandon their cause.

Edited by - Seravin on 14 Sep 2016 21:43:03
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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2016 :  02:29:06  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

But no one tried to stop him, and the elves were completely unaware until the dragon spotted the ships that ANYTHING was happening. An army being mobilized and built up with a huge navy like that would NOT BE A SECRET from anyone; and also the whole thing with Lolth getting him out in the first place and helping him with all this. Why did the Harpers not rally to stop him? How many evil gold elves could there possibly be who would be willing to destroy their own homeland? It stretches my mind to think there would be more than a dozen or two at most given that this is totally against their nature and very nihilistic. Still not buying it.



I agree it stretches credibility, but on the other hand, never underestimate the power of racial "superiority" complex. I would venture that not a single of those gold elf seditionists would describe themselves as evil. They almost undoubtedly believe they are going to restore order to Evermeet and bring about a "golden age" (pardon the pun) by putting those most capable (gold elves) in their rightful position of rulership. I'm certain they view themselves as heroic liberators, not evil invaders.

As for not killing Nimesin - maybe the Harpers believed an execution would turn him into a martyr, a figurehead to hasten the cause of the separatist gold elves and maybe even help them with recruiting. As for his escape, it's not like some Harper guard dozed off in his chair with the key ring within Kymil's reach. Lolth and Ghaunadar working together is going to be more powerful than any mortal attempt to counter. Why didn't the goodly gods intervene? Like I said in my previous post, the defender is usually reactive to the attacker. Or maybe they just got confused as to who's turn it was to watch Nimesin's pocket jail plane that week.
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CTrunks
Acolyte

Canada
20 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2016 :  02:46:45  Show Profile Send CTrunks a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I had always assumed that before Lolth helped Kymil escape, she subtly had her minions working with those who were still loyal to him or sympathetic to his cause (in disguise) to make sure everything was ready, and then as soon as they busted him out, they were immediately on the road to Viridian Ci- err, setting sail for Evermeet.
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ElaineCunningham
Forgotten Realms Author

2394 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2016 :  13:41:29  Show Profile  Visit ElaineCunningham's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Harpers have been known to make mistakes. Had they the benefit of hindsight when Kymil was sentenced, they would have killed him twice, cremated him, sent his ashes to that pocket dimension, and then magically nuked said dimension from space, just to be sure.
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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2016 :  16:04:40  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Is that an LV-426 reference? :)
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Brimstone
Great Reader

USA
3285 Posts

Posted - 15 Sep 2016 :  18:31:47  Show Profile Send Brimstone a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Sounds like it...

"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1265 Posts

Posted - 16 Sep 2016 :  14:51:40  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ElaineCunningham

Harpers have been known to make mistakes. Had they the benefit of hindsight when Kymil was sentenced, they would have killed him twice, cremated him, sent his ashes to that pocket dimension, and then magically nuked said dimension from space, just to be sure.




And danced about on his grave too! Thanks Elaine!
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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 22 Sep 2016 :  18:56:46  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I finished Realms of Mystery several days ago. I think, of all the anthologies thus far, this one was the most "baseline". I do like unpredictable plot twists, so an entire collection of stories revolving around "big reveals" was interesting.

Speaking With the Dead (Elaine C.) was a good yarn where we see maybe just a tiny bit of a budding friendship between Craulnober and Dan starting to form. Or maybe he just wants to murder him *slightly* less. Hey, that's a start.

A Walk in the Snow (Dave Gross) I felt was the most clever of the lot. A mage dies with no apparent physical cause, until it is revealed the strain of his familiar being killed is what did him in.

The Rose Window (Monte Cook) was more horror than murder mystery. I thought this was the most predictable, as the journal of course would cut off just before he enters the portal. Very much in the style of "found footage" movies like the Blair Witch Project and so on.

The Club Rules (James Lowder) is a classic "wrongly framed for murder" tale in which a younger Artus Cimber (pre Ring of Winter) must exonerate the demonic looking butler of the Adventurer's Club. Fairly predictable, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

Thieves' Justice (Mary Herbert) there have been several installments now of Teza the horse thief, and I can't say she does much for me as a character. However I really dig Herbert's portrayal of Rashemen and its sort of Gaelic mythology vibe - with aughiskies and selkies and such. I'm quite partial to this region of Faerun so there's always something for me to mine from these stories.

Ekhar Lorrent: Gnome Detective (Stan!) uggh, a gnome detective that only speaks in rhymes. The thing is, the story itself was fairly decent, maybe even one of them more clever offerings in the book. But that Ekhar...

The Devil and Tertius Wands (Jeff Grubb) ouch, two goofy stories back to back. Actually, maybe it was better like that, to get them out of the way and then cleanse the palette. Here are just a few of the "Grubbisms" from this gem:

- A bad guy with the name "Big Ugly"
- A reference to "riding crossbow" on the carriage. Hahaha, get it, like riding shotgun....
- An actual quote: "Had I been thinking about my mystoricals I could have toughed it out, thought of some glib explanation, but in truth I had been wowsered by the beauty of the box." Really? "Wowsered" was the best verb he could come up with to show being impressed with something?
- a bit of meta humor with the main character donning the illusion of a drow and naming himself Ziixxxita (because drow have lots of Z's and X's in their names) and completing the image with twin curved swords...

Just more silly anachronisms, groan-worthy puns, and general goofiness. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me anymore.

H (Richard Lee Byers) was a really creepy tale of an adventuring party being picked off one-by-one by a shapeshifting invader. Great horror vibe and an exciting story all around.

Strange Bedfellows (Keith Francis Strohm) was an ok story about a retired Purple Dragon dealing with treachery. It didn't stand out to me as particularly good or bad.

Whence the Song of Steel (J. Robert King) writes about a sentient singing sword and its desire to return to glory and be rid of mediocre thespians that use it to achieve fame. A fairly clever story, and something different from the norm.

An Unusual Suspect (Brian M Thomsen) I've been super critical of this author and his horrible Once Around the Realms and other stories. But his last two, about the amnesiac guy who serves the Lords of Waterdeep in clandestine missions, haven't been too bad.

Darkly, Through a Glass of Ale (Peter Archer) - I'm glad I recently read the Diamond saga, or I wouldn't have had any clue what was going on in this story. A decent tale, but not memorable.

Lynaelle (Thomas M. Reid) - pretty good story of a young apprentice trying to prove her innocence in the death of her master. One of the better shorts in this collection.

The Grinning Ghost of Taverton Hall (Greenwood) - so many character names, I'll confess it was hard for me to follow. Plus it was late at night and I just wanted to finish the anthology. It had a few bits of dialogue that were quite funny, but overall it was just an average story.

I've since started in on Elaine Cunningham's Thornhold and am about halfway through. I plan to finish it up in the next 2-3 days.

Edited by - VikingLegion on 22 Sep 2016 18:59:06
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VikingLegion
Senior Scribe

USA
483 Posts

Posted - 27 Sep 2016 :  17:00:00  Show Profile Send VikingLegion a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I finished Thornhold over the weekend. A good book, not Elaine's best, but still very solid. I like Bronwyn quite a bit (despite her red oak leaf tramp stamp :P) In fact, I find her to be much more compelling than Arilyn Moonblade as a main protagonist. Dag Zoreth and Cara Doon were both interesting characters, I'm particularly curious as to what Cara has in store in her future.

I think Algorind the paladin got a bit of a raw deal. He's young, impressionable, and a bit gullible. He's just trying to do his duty as best he can, but he gets vilified as an absolute monster by the end of the story.

I also had a bit of a problem with Sir Gareth, and fallen paladins in general. How does his fall from grace go undiscovered for so many years when he's active in his order? Ok, so maybe it would be considered "rude" for a fellow paladin to use his aura sight on a companion, especially one who has held a position of high esteem for so many years, but you have to figure at some point it would come to light - maybe an accident in the training yard exposes his inability to perform a curative spell, I don't know... something. And as for Gareth himself, how delusional does he have to be to not realize he's given himself over to an evil cause? He hasn't communed with his god in years, he has not been graced with the ability to cast spells. But the book seems to describe him as a man who doesn't really think of himself as a "bad guy". I guess he's just completely warped in the head and has an amazing ability to twist and self-rationalize everything.

A good story overall though. I wonder if the Fenrisbane will make any future appearances. I've since started in on The Shadow Stone, which, by my count, is the 47th novel in the Forgotten Realms line with the word shadow in the title.
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Sunderstone
Learned Scribe

104 Posts

Posted - 27 Sep 2016 :  18:18:46  Show Profile Send Sunderstone a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by VikingLegion

I finished Thornhold over the weekend. A good book, not Elaine's best, but still very solid. I like Bronwyn quite a bit (despite her red oak leaf tramp stamp :P) In fact, I find her to be much more compelling than Arilyn Moonblade as a main protagonist. Dag Zoreth and Cara Doon were both interesting characters, I'm particularly curious as to what Cara has in store in her future.

I think Algorind the paladin got a bit of a raw deal. He's young, impressionable, and a bit gullible. He's just trying to do his duty as best he can, but he gets vilified as an absolute monster by the end of the story.

I also had a bit of a problem with Sir Gareth, and fallen paladins in general. How does his fall from grace go undiscovered for so many years when he's active in his order? Ok, so maybe it would be considered "rude" for a fellow paladin to use his aura sight on a companion, especially one who has held a position of high esteem for so many years, but you have to figure at some point it would come to light - maybe an accident in the training yard exposes his inability to perform a curative spell, I don't know... something. And as for Gareth himself, how delusional does he have to be to not realize he's given himself over to an evil cause? He hasn't communed with his god in years, he has not been graced with the ability to cast spells. But the book seems to describe him as a man who doesn't really think of himself as a "bad guy". I guess he's just completely warped in the head and has an amazing ability to twist and self-rationalize everything.

A good story overall though. I wonder if the Fenrisbane will make any future appearances. I've since started in on The Shadow Stone, which, by my count, is the 47th novel in the Forgotten Realms line with the word shadow in the title.



I liked the novel very much but I had a few gripes. Piergeiron's characterization seemed off. In every other book he appears, he seems far less calculating and for more ready to see the good in an individual, than the bad. Much as he did with Mrelder in City of Splendors. He seemed to easily swayed by Sir Gareth's proclamations on Bronwyn, Danillo Thann, and Alice Tinker.

I agree with you about Bronwyn, I like her more than Arilyn and enjoyed her small roll in Dream Spheres as well. Ebenezer and the Stoneshaft dwarves seemed a little caricatured for my taste.

I had the same general feeling about Algorind that you expressed until reading Elaine's short story The Knights of Samular. He had a redemptive arc in the story and was less two dimensional. He actually displayed some of the wisdom one would come to expect from a paladin.

There was supposed to be a follow on book called Reclamation but I believe Elaine was unable to finish it and then 4thed and the 100 year jump in time took place. Some of the issues that seemed unfinished or unresolved would have tied up in that book.

Edited by - Sunderstone on 27 Sep 2016 18:27:24
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 28 Sep 2016 :  03:00:22  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sunderstone



I liked the novel very much but I had a few gripes. Piergeiron's characterization seemed off. In every other book he appears, he seems far less calculating and for more ready to see the good in an individual, than the bad. Much as he did with Mrelder in City of Splendors. He seemed to easily swayed by Sir Gareth's proclamations on Bronwyn, Danillo Thann, and Alice Tinker.


Keep in mind that Gareth was able to live among paladins without them realizing he'd turned to evil. When a trusted paladin speaks with another paladin, of course the former's word will carry more weight with the latter.

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Madpig
Learned Scribe

Finland
148 Posts

Posted - 28 Sep 2016 :  06:49:29  Show Profile Send Madpig a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Just thought one thing up: Do you guys recall any magic used by rangers or paladins in novels? My memory seems to be bit fuzzy, but I think about every spellcasting is done by people with lvls on wiz or cleric. This observation does not apply on any novel in particular, but in general.
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