#105 Star of Cusrah by Clayton Emery (Lost Empires 3)
Read 4/11/20 to 9/11/20
Book 3- and another good one, I'm beginning to like this series, not that they are (as explained above) in anyway connected, apart from the slow reveal of an ancient and lost kingdom in all of its glory.
Cursrah, gets a go in this novel, and the conceit is three guys (let's call them adventurers) discover the aforementioned ancient city/palace/temple, meet a mummy (and lots of other stuff) and then get captured and hounded by half-ogres, bandits and other assorted reprobates. While at the same time one of their number wearing a magical circlet gets to to watch the the princess, back in the ancient past when Cursrah was really something, live her life.
What's that, the princess has two very close male friends, a roguish fellow and a stout warrior.
But what's that the adventuring party in the present contains a princess (actually an heir to a slaving concern) and her two friends- a roguish fellow and a stout... but you're there already.
So, a semi-legitimate way to work the two stories as one- to connect them, but also to set up for the inevitable overlap when we get to discover who exactly is inside the mummy's bandages.
It is of course exactly who you expected it to be.
But here's the thing- the action in the past is excellent, edifying and interesting- if you want to read about how to deconstruct a city/empire/regency then this is the book for you, seriously- in-game this would be such a great thing to get the PCs mixed up in.
Oh, and Cursrah is Egyptian-ish, but these are transferable skills the author is teaching us.
Inevitably the past gets to meet the future, and vice-versa- and that's all good too, a nice wrap up- semi-convincing, in retrospect employing the person who most hates the royal family to serve as their protector in the afterlife, all the way through to the dawning of the new age of Cursrah.
Not the best plan, clearly no lawyers were involved in this decision.
You'd have though a kingdom used to doing deals with Djinni would check the small print first.
So, nice PCs- the latter mob a small adventuring party, not neophyte but nicely low to mid level, that's nice- and a change up.
Nice monsters, traps and effects.
No big evil dude, and probably all the better for it.
Very nice info that's going to get recycled.
Read- top work, just a good/great little story- nice device.