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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: 8119510" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#104 Faces of Deception by Troy Denning (Lost Empires 2) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 1/11/20 to 3/11/20</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128207[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Book 2- and, well- it's nowhere near as good as the last one, it's okay- and I whizzed through it in only three days so I was keen to see how it all worked out.</p><p></p><p>We're back in the Utter East (which still strikes me as a nearly clever buy mostly dumb name for the place). Sune (Goddess of Beauty) has charged Atreus (a would-be adherent, pandered to by the church because he has money) to go on a quest to recover from the fountain of yadda-yadda. Atreus hit every branch on the way down when he fell out of the ugly tree- he was raised by Ogres, which is a switch on the usual. </p><p></p><p>Along for the ride are Yago (Atreus' Ogre bodyguard/father- you decide), Rishi (a Mar sometime villain) and towards the back half Seema- beautiful and beguiling (and the key to their success, sorta).</p><p></p><p>So the gang have to get to Langdarma, the hidden unspoilt valley beyond the glaciers (Tibet/Nepal). I guess some of my issues with the book are the fact that the good guys have to invent their enemies along the way- the Queen of wherever it is Atreus lands is not keen on him making the quest (why is a bit airy fairy) and so soldiers are despatched to chase the gang down- when out gang escape the city. There's a 100 or so page section in which our guys face down the soldiers in a marsh, followed by a confrontation with a Devil-lead slave ship, at which point the gang rescue Seema.</p><p></p><p>Tarch, the devil, is the best NPC in this- boy is he hard to kill, for which I really like him, the odd thing is he talks like he's from the bayous around N'Orleans (forgive me if that's incorrect, I'm not from the US) I just remember him calling one of our guys 'Bubber', which probably should be written as bubba. But again, not my area of expertise.</p><p></p><p>But my point is that without these two random-ish encounters then there'd be a lot less of the book, and the soldiers hang around for quite a while, and add very little to the story- except maybe that Atreus has to dump his strongbox full of gold.</p><p></p><p>But we get to Langdarma, and all is suitably paradise-like = dirt poor, but 'appy. </p><p></p><p>Atreus nearly learns to trust but not quite, Seema gives up everything- just odd, Yago is bemused by much of the finale (and Atreus' chop-changing his mind) and the Ogre pays the ultimate price. While Rishi turns out to be a nasty piece of work... I don't know quite what to tell you, it's just all a little odd at the end. It's like the author was aiming for ending A and at some point decided that ending B was slightly better, and then ended up writing ending C. Which doesn't quite leave the reader very satisfied, there was a bit of... is that it? Is there a sequel?</p><p></p><p>A bit disappointing- a lot of journey, most of it okay but y'know repetitive in places, nice exploration- but not a place my PCs are ever going to visit; like the devil- Tarch... and then the end.</p><p></p><p>Okay, I guess.</p><p></p><p>Read.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8119510, member: 16069"] [B]#104 Faces of Deception by Troy Denning (Lost Empires 2) Read 1/11/20 to 3/11/20[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="173px"]128207[/ATTACH] Book 2- and, well- it's nowhere near as good as the last one, it's okay- and I whizzed through it in only three days so I was keen to see how it all worked out. We're back in the Utter East (which still strikes me as a nearly clever buy mostly dumb name for the place). Sune (Goddess of Beauty) has charged Atreus (a would-be adherent, pandered to by the church because he has money) to go on a quest to recover from the fountain of yadda-yadda. Atreus hit every branch on the way down when he fell out of the ugly tree- he was raised by Ogres, which is a switch on the usual. Along for the ride are Yago (Atreus' Ogre bodyguard/father- you decide), Rishi (a Mar sometime villain) and towards the back half Seema- beautiful and beguiling (and the key to their success, sorta). So the gang have to get to Langdarma, the hidden unspoilt valley beyond the glaciers (Tibet/Nepal). I guess some of my issues with the book are the fact that the good guys have to invent their enemies along the way- the Queen of wherever it is Atreus lands is not keen on him making the quest (why is a bit airy fairy) and so soldiers are despatched to chase the gang down- when out gang escape the city. There's a 100 or so page section in which our guys face down the soldiers in a marsh, followed by a confrontation with a Devil-lead slave ship, at which point the gang rescue Seema. Tarch, the devil, is the best NPC in this- boy is he hard to kill, for which I really like him, the odd thing is he talks like he's from the bayous around N'Orleans (forgive me if that's incorrect, I'm not from the US) I just remember him calling one of our guys 'Bubber', which probably should be written as bubba. But again, not my area of expertise. But my point is that without these two random-ish encounters then there'd be a lot less of the book, and the soldiers hang around for quite a while, and add very little to the story- except maybe that Atreus has to dump his strongbox full of gold. But we get to Langdarma, and all is suitably paradise-like = dirt poor, but 'appy. Atreus nearly learns to trust but not quite, Seema gives up everything- just odd, Yago is bemused by much of the finale (and Atreus' chop-changing his mind) and the Ogre pays the ultimate price. While Rishi turns out to be a nasty piece of work... I don't know quite what to tell you, it's just all a little odd at the end. It's like the author was aiming for ending A and at some point decided that ending B was slightly better, and then ended up writing ending C. Which doesn't quite leave the reader very satisfied, there was a bit of... is that it? Is there a sequel? A bit disappointing- a lot of journey, most of it okay but y'know repetitive in places, nice exploration- but not a place my PCs are ever going to visit; like the devil- Tarch... and then the end. Okay, I guess. Read. Stay safe and well. [/QUOTE]
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