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I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7972973" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#067 Thornhold by Elaine Cunningham (Harpers 16 + Songs & Swords 4) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 12/4/20 to 23/4/20</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]121367[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>To begin with a confession, I've been bad- I've been seeing (and reading) other books, y'know- proper books. So, it didn't take me twelve days to read this novel, it took four. I picked it up- started it, and then on page 10 or so just said to myself, I need to read something else. Just to say when I got back to the novel, well- it just flew by. </p><p></p><p>I feel better for having told you this, confession is good for the soul.</p><p></p><p>Book 16- and we're mostly in Waterdeep for the intrigue, and a few other places for the action- the bad guys here are as much the rigid Knights of Samular as the despicable Zhentarim. The main players however are Bronwyn, our gal; Dag Zoreth (actually Bron's long lost bro', real name Bran) for the Zhent; Ebenezer- for the Dwarves, and lastly the earnest goon-Paladin (who I really liked) Algorind.</p><p></p><p>The book is about corruption and rot in high places, and it's well written- and a joy to read, easy on the eye and it all makes sense. There is however lots to see and do here, and once or twice I found myself wishing- let's just keep with the (low level) good guys and skip the high-ups swanning around telling lies to each other.</p><p></p><p>That's the thing, this is the best Elaine Cunningham novel I've read so far, and just to say again- they're all very well written, it's just that some part of me is left wanting more. There are simpler and more direct offerings in the crowded FR canon, that do much better with much less. In the Harper series The Ring of Winter (James Lowder) but particularly standout is Soldiers of Ice (David Cook). </p><p></p><p>Possibly the above is just me, I'm not enamoured with a lot of the Greenwood books (but again, that doesn't make them bad) but they're packed with new info, and ways of doing and saying that will inform my game. Likewise many of the other books have some great (dynamic) fight scenes, and maybe a twisty-turny piece of plot. But here's the thing- Cunningham, so far imho, has produced great books that do some or all of the above, but not enough to make me want to rave about them.</p><p></p><p>Back to the novel, and we've three rings, and three descendants of Samular, so the endgame is to get the rings and siblings (sorta) together, and to make the magic happen. What magic you ask? Fenrisbane, which now I've seen it (albeit briefly) I'm a little disappointed with. It's not the Ring of Winter, it's not Arilyn Moonblade's well... Moonblade, it's just a great big... but, I'll leave it to you to read the book and find out (or Google).</p><p></p><p>It's okay (Fenrisbane) not exactly a Swiss army knife, it has one purpose and fortunately it is exactly what is needed at that exact moment in time (again)- so, it works.</p><p></p><p>Same ways the final resolution- you, go stand in the corner (Dag); we'll get on with our new life (Bronwyn (+ Cara) & Ebenezer), while you- you silly Paladin, go and think about what you've done, and be prepared to do it all again.</p><p></p><p>It goes a long way to get to where we were, but again- that's nothing new; and still the high-ups whisper half-truths to each other (politics, huh!).</p><p></p><p>So, enjoyable, right until the end- which was a bit of a let down, I wish there was more dash and action, some great fights- rather than scrambling mauls. I want more viscera, greater immediate and in-your-face threat, perhaps I'm just not seeing it.</p><p></p><p>Read.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7972973, member: 16069"] [B]#067 Thornhold by Elaine Cunningham (Harpers 16 + Songs & Swords 4) Read 12/4/20 to 23/4/20[/B] [ATTACH]121367[/ATTACH] To begin with a confession, I've been bad- I've been seeing (and reading) other books, y'know- proper books. So, it didn't take me twelve days to read this novel, it took four. I picked it up- started it, and then on page 10 or so just said to myself, I need to read something else. Just to say when I got back to the novel, well- it just flew by. I feel better for having told you this, confession is good for the soul. Book 16- and we're mostly in Waterdeep for the intrigue, and a few other places for the action- the bad guys here are as much the rigid Knights of Samular as the despicable Zhentarim. The main players however are Bronwyn, our gal; Dag Zoreth (actually Bron's long lost bro', real name Bran) for the Zhent; Ebenezer- for the Dwarves, and lastly the earnest goon-Paladin (who I really liked) Algorind. The book is about corruption and rot in high places, and it's well written- and a joy to read, easy on the eye and it all makes sense. There is however lots to see and do here, and once or twice I found myself wishing- let's just keep with the (low level) good guys and skip the high-ups swanning around telling lies to each other. That's the thing, this is the best Elaine Cunningham novel I've read so far, and just to say again- they're all very well written, it's just that some part of me is left wanting more. There are simpler and more direct offerings in the crowded FR canon, that do much better with much less. In the Harper series The Ring of Winter (James Lowder) but particularly standout is Soldiers of Ice (David Cook). Possibly the above is just me, I'm not enamoured with a lot of the Greenwood books (but again, that doesn't make them bad) but they're packed with new info, and ways of doing and saying that will inform my game. Likewise many of the other books have some great (dynamic) fight scenes, and maybe a twisty-turny piece of plot. But here's the thing- Cunningham, so far imho, has produced great books that do some or all of the above, but not enough to make me want to rave about them. Back to the novel, and we've three rings, and three descendants of Samular, so the endgame is to get the rings and siblings (sorta) together, and to make the magic happen. What magic you ask? Fenrisbane, which now I've seen it (albeit briefly) I'm a little disappointed with. It's not the Ring of Winter, it's not Arilyn Moonblade's well... Moonblade, it's just a great big... but, I'll leave it to you to read the book and find out (or Google). It's okay (Fenrisbane) not exactly a Swiss army knife, it has one purpose and fortunately it is exactly what is needed at that exact moment in time (again)- so, it works. Same ways the final resolution- you, go stand in the corner (Dag); we'll get on with our new life (Bronwyn (+ Cara) & Ebenezer), while you- you silly Paladin, go and think about what you've done, and be prepared to do it all again. It goes a long way to get to where we were, but again- that's nothing new; and still the high-ups whisper half-truths to each other (politics, huh!). So, enjoyable, right until the end- which was a bit of a let down, I wish there was more dash and action, some great fights- rather than scrambling mauls. I want more viscera, greater immediate and in-your-face threat, perhaps I'm just not seeing it. Read. [/QUOTE]
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