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Starchaserva
Acolyte
10 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Jun 2008 : 16:50:26
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Has anyone read Philip Athans' "Watercourse Trilogy"? I noticed it the other day, and started reading the first book. If anyone else has read it, I'm curious for your opinions on it. It came out about 2006-07. First book is called "Whisper of Waves"
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Edited by - Starchaserva on 23 Jun 2008 17:05:24
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2008 : 18:01:03
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Yes, many people around here have read it, myself included. My opinion of the trilogy is not particularly favorable, however, I've given my opinion many times and I don't want to repeat everything I've said here, soooo...
If you want to read my comments (among others), check out the related threads in the Book Club forum. Or do a search. |
"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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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2008 : 19:09:48
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| I have not read it because I do not have a favorable view of the author. He largely botched up the novelization of Baldur's Gate. Maybe someday I will give him a second chance, but I have some many other authors that I know I like (both Realms and non-Realms) that I do not have the time to waste on this trilogy right now. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane
* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PFRPG OGL Rules)
* The Hypertext d20 SRD (3.5 OGL Rules)
* 3.5 D&D Archives
My game design work:
* Heroes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG, conversion; Rite Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 1: Cantrips & Orisons (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 2: 1st-Level Spells (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2008 : 20:31:38
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quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
I have not read it because I do not have a favorable view of the author. He largely botched up the novelization of Baldur's Gate.
True--it's hard for me to forget about that. That being said, though, I tried not to let that color my view of the WT--I think those books stand or fall (IMO, fall) on their own merits, or lack thereof. |
"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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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2008 : 21:26:24
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Well, Rino, we do agree on a great many things on these boards. But this ain't one of them. I to a degree enjoyed the series. It was kind of a minor, unassuming story that I enjoyed. Was it great? Nope. Was Baldur's Gate bad? Yup.
But I liked these books. I would give them a B/B- |
When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2008 : 01:15:37
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quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
Well, Rino, we do agree on a great many things on these boards. But this ain't one of them. I to a degree enjoyed the series.
Hey, that's no crime. |
"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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MerrikCale
Senior Scribe
USA
947 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2008 : 03:03:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
Well, Rino, we do agree on a great many things on these boards. But this ain't one of them. I to a degree enjoyed the series.
Hey, that's no crime.
True. Its not like I said I enjoyed the Last Mythal or sumthin' |
When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight. |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2008 : 04:36:26
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ah Phyrea..........
Such fond memories |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2008 : 16:13:17
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quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
True. Its not like I said I enjoyed the Last Mythal or sumthin'
Indeed. That would have been a crime.
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"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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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2008 : 18:03:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by MerrikCale
True. Its not like I said I enjoyed the Last Mythal or sumthin'
Indeed. That would have been a crime.
Hey, stop picking on me! I liked the Last Mythal (and the Return of the Archwizards for that matter)  |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane
* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PFRPG OGL Rules)
* The Hypertext d20 SRD (3.5 OGL Rules)
* 3.5 D&D Archives
My game design work:
* Heroes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG, conversion; Rite Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 1: Cantrips & Orisons (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 2: 1st-Level Spells (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
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Edited by - Hawkins on 24 Jun 2008 18:04:26 |
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Zelg of Cyric
Acolyte
44 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2008 : 23:51:56
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| Overall, I enjoyed it. However, I must say that it went significantly downhill after the first book. |
"Even before he first walked the world as a mortal, Cyric had the will to resist the random call of Fate and make his own fortune. As his newborn soul stood before the goddesses, he cast a light upon Tymora's silver coin, blinding them to his presence. The deities never saw the coin fall, never settled their wager on Cyric's destiny. Thus was he born into the world without any fate save the one he himself could forge." -- from the Cyrinishad |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2008 : 00:42:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Starchaserva
Has anyone read Philip Athans' "Watercourse Trilogy"? I noticed it the other day, and started reading the first book. If anyone else has read it, I'm curious for your opinions on it. It came out about 2006-07. First book is called "Whisper of Waves"
How are you enjoying it? I finished them and thought they were worth the effort, but it is disappointing when a trilogy gets less interesting as it goes. |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Starchaserva
Acolyte
10 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jul 2008 : 21:45:09
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| I think I'll sum it up by paraphrasing an old quote "As a writer, Philip Athans is a great editor" I've read the first book, and a third of the second, and so far, I'm not impressed. I'm going to finish the rest of the trilogy before I make my final judgement. I see a lot of what I consider character inconsistencies, especially with Ivar, whom I didn't even know was the main "hero" until halfway through the first book. As I heard before, he lives in destitution until someone who "matters" suddenly shows up and gives him something to do. I thought it wasn't realistic for him to live in abject squalor, never doing anything to help himself, never going out of his way to talk to people or do anything (outside of building) and then all of a sudden he has the stones to break into Phyrea's house. I was like....where did that come from? Probably the same place the architect learned all his fighting skills, and that Athans has yet to mention |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2008 : 16:02:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Starchaserva
Probably the same place the architect learned all his fighting skills, and that Athans has yet to mention
I guess they offered self-defense classes at his architect's school. |
"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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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2008 : 18:28:22
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| I suppose since fighting is partly about angles and pressure points an arcitectual idiot savant could maybe be a decent untrained fighter. But that would be a stretch indeed! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2008 : 18:57:09
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| "I know... If I just kick him in the cornerstones, he'll go down like a pile of bricks!" |
Edited by - Ozzalum on 03 Jul 2008 18:59:20 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2018 : 18:44:33
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| For those of you who have read this work, can someone tell me what 'Berrywilde' is on the map? |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2018 : 19:01:06
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| As I said in your other thread (duplicating it here to make it easier to find in the future): it's Phyrea's family's country estate. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2018 : 19:33:40
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Thanks Wooly!
I asked in two places because I wasn't sure if too many people actually read my 'Maps' thread (which I stupidly use in 'blog-mode' sometimes, so I can't blame them). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Caolin
Senior Scribe
768 Posts |
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The Watercourse Trilogy
