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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: 7946585" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#060 Masquerades by Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb (Harpers 10) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 17/3/20 to 19/3/20</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]120061[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Book 10- and yet another one I enjoyed (mostly) and the Novak & Grubb gang (from the Azure Bonds/Finder's Stone trilogy) are back together- Alias the swordswoman, Dragonbait (the coolest Saurial Paladin on all of Toril), and Olive Ruskettle (superior Halfling Bard (= Thief)). </p><p></p><p>The city of Westgate is in trouble, birth place (sorta not) of Alias, the Night Masks lead by the Faceless are seeking to become masters of the trade capital, and supplant the great families. There's even a wonderful map inside the front cover of the book I read- dividing Westgate up in to the various territories of the terror gang. The Faceless runs the Night Masks like a tyrannical CEO, the nuts and bolts of their operation is exposed here and is going to get replicated in one my future games, promise.</p><p></p><p>There are a bunch of new characters to meet and greet, the oddest of them all is Jamal- not for anything she does but for the fact that in the last ten pages of the book she turns out to be the hidden Harper in the pack, yeah... no Harper's mentioned throughout, ten pages to go- here she is. Odd.</p><p></p><p>The sage Mintassan assumes the semi-Elminster role, only he's younger and slightly cooler, but as it turns out just as multifunctional.</p><p></p><p>So, the book and story flies bye- plenty of action (Alias et al vs the Night Masks), plenty of detective work, and plenty of smooth talking (in a very down-to-earth sorta way) from Victor Dhostar, son of Westgate's governing family- the next in line, waiting (im)patiently for his turn at the helm.</p><p></p><p>Therein lies the real problem- the Faceless is, well... faceless- or else his identity is obscured, who could he be? The red herring in this is Victor's dad- Luer Dhostar, alas lots of the suspicious info discovered about Luer is supplied (or made sense of) by his son... Victor.</p><p></p><p>Victor's also too good to be true from very early in the piece, for a while I didn't spot it- what's this I thought, there's a love story front and centre of the novel, that's nice- sorta, Alias is going to find her life-partner. But it can't be true, and... lots of other folk aren't as impressed with the pretender to the throne (in-waiting). So, the suspicion hits you pretty early, and there's nothing (at all) that happens afterwards that will throw the reader off the scent.</p><p></p><p>Then there's the story not-told (except in the SPOILERS epilogue). There's a big fight- Alias, Dragonbait & Mintassan the Sage are suddenly gone- presumed dead, Ruskettle and Jamal are left to make sense of it. Luer's dead, the Night Masks defeated (sorta, maybe) and the remaining great families quickly shuffle Victor to the top of the pack. By this time we know, of course, that Victor is the villain, secure in his new position and surrounded by his pandering hench-people. Which the author has really started to really focus upon.</p><p></p><p>Turns out... well, I'll not spoil the surprise, except to say- Alias et al are not dead- what's that, I hear you cry in shock, they're hiding in plain sight, ready to pounce.Wwhich they inevitably do, in a great/fight scene set (eventually) in an angry gold-paved treasure house demi-plane in which the good guys (and bad guy) have to overcome about a million gaseous form (to begin with) Dretch. It's a corker.</p><p></p><p>Then comes the epilogue, to explain how we got from D to E, which is a bit... well, I guess if you have to.</p><p></p><p>There's some great action, lots of great characters- Dragonbait for the win, the setting is well explored, as are the politics et al of the various factions and organisations- there's lot to like, and it swings by, it's just the plot that needs to be forgiven (a little). Otherwise, I raced through it.</p><p></p><p>Read.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well you lovely people- these are strange days.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7946585, member: 16069"] [B]#060 Masquerades by Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb (Harpers 10) Read 17/3/20 to 19/3/20[/B] [ATTACH]120061[/ATTACH] Book 10- and yet another one I enjoyed (mostly) and the Novak & Grubb gang (from the Azure Bonds/Finder's Stone trilogy) are back together- Alias the swordswoman, Dragonbait (the coolest Saurial Paladin on all of Toril), and Olive Ruskettle (superior Halfling Bard (= Thief)). The city of Westgate is in trouble, birth place (sorta not) of Alias, the Night Masks lead by the Faceless are seeking to become masters of the trade capital, and supplant the great families. There's even a wonderful map inside the front cover of the book I read- dividing Westgate up in to the various territories of the terror gang. The Faceless runs the Night Masks like a tyrannical CEO, the nuts and bolts of their operation is exposed here and is going to get replicated in one my future games, promise. There are a bunch of new characters to meet and greet, the oddest of them all is Jamal- not for anything she does but for the fact that in the last ten pages of the book she turns out to be the hidden Harper in the pack, yeah... no Harper's mentioned throughout, ten pages to go- here she is. Odd. The sage Mintassan assumes the semi-Elminster role, only he's younger and slightly cooler, but as it turns out just as multifunctional. So, the book and story flies bye- plenty of action (Alias et al vs the Night Masks), plenty of detective work, and plenty of smooth talking (in a very down-to-earth sorta way) from Victor Dhostar, son of Westgate's governing family- the next in line, waiting (im)patiently for his turn at the helm. Therein lies the real problem- the Faceless is, well... faceless- or else his identity is obscured, who could he be? The red herring in this is Victor's dad- Luer Dhostar, alas lots of the suspicious info discovered about Luer is supplied (or made sense of) by his son... Victor. Victor's also too good to be true from very early in the piece, for a while I didn't spot it- what's this I thought, there's a love story front and centre of the novel, that's nice- sorta, Alias is going to find her life-partner. But it can't be true, and... lots of other folk aren't as impressed with the pretender to the throne (in-waiting). So, the suspicion hits you pretty early, and there's nothing (at all) that happens afterwards that will throw the reader off the scent. Then there's the story not-told (except in the SPOILERS epilogue). There's a big fight- Alias, Dragonbait & Mintassan the Sage are suddenly gone- presumed dead, Ruskettle and Jamal are left to make sense of it. Luer's dead, the Night Masks defeated (sorta, maybe) and the remaining great families quickly shuffle Victor to the top of the pack. By this time we know, of course, that Victor is the villain, secure in his new position and surrounded by his pandering hench-people. Which the author has really started to really focus upon. Turns out... well, I'll not spoil the surprise, except to say- Alias et al are not dead- what's that, I hear you cry in shock, they're hiding in plain sight, ready to pounce.Wwhich they inevitably do, in a great/fight scene set (eventually) in an angry gold-paved treasure house demi-plane in which the good guys (and bad guy) have to overcome about a million gaseous form (to begin with) Dretch. It's a corker. Then comes the epilogue, to explain how we got from D to E, which is a bit... well, I guess if you have to. There's some great action, lots of great characters- Dragonbait for the win, the setting is well explored, as are the politics et al of the various factions and organisations- there's lot to like, and it swings by, it's just the plot that needs to be forgiven (a little). Otherwise, I raced through it. Read. Stay safe and well you lovely people- these are strange days. [/QUOTE]
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