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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: 8052863" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#084 Murder in Cormyr by Chet Williamson (Mysteries 1) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 28/7/20 to 1/8/20</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]124364[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Well, that was different- and very easy (lite). So, a detective novel in which Benelaius does all the big thinking (ex-War Wizard from Cormyr) but our guy- the lead, ex-slop boy Jasper does all the legwork. There's enough here to make a nice story, although the realms thing is just the backdrop to a... well, a plain old detective story (sorta, see below).</p><p></p><p>There are issues- we follow Jasper exclusively, and yet Benelaius and his side-kick Lindavar are the ones that actually solve the murder mystery, and the pair barely get a look in until the end of the book. Which is odd, can you think of another detective novel in which the sleuth stays at home and just sends a constable out to do all of the legwork. I guess it's a choice, and there probably exists a similar detective novel, but odd. </p><p></p><p>"Poirot? Sorry, no- I'm the guy who cleans his smalls. Mind if I have a look around?"</p><p></p><p>The final solution to the murder mystery requires a little understanding of local politics, Sembia and the Iron Throne's machinations- this isn't something that is discussed at length in the novel, I don't think it is mentioned at all... prior to the grand revealing.</p><p></p><p>So, the ending's nice (and neat) but the solution isn't something the reader can really get to easily, or maybe I'm just not that bright.</p><p></p><p>Also, the mystery involves no magic (or anything fantasy fiction, much) so with all the realms to roam, any amount of mystical and magical devices then... there's none of that at all. </p><p></p><p>Which is doubly odd, when I think about it, because the two mystery solvers are both high level wizards.</p><p></p><p>In short it's set in the realms, but doesn't use anything much from the fantasy milieu or location.</p><p></p><p>There's the ghost (and the massively underpowered hydra), but I wont say anymore about these just in case you're going to give this one a go.</p><p></p><p>Last oddity, this is by far the shortest FR book that I have read so far- 247 pages in the hardback, and there's plenty of white space between the chapters, which makes it an incredibly easy/quick read. </p><p></p><p>All of the above caveats aside, I turned the pages tout suite because I was keen to get to the finale and the solution. It did it's job, not badly written- I'd probably prefer something a bit cleverer/visceral, and possibly with a gumshoe that I couldn't put down.</p><p></p><p>I like a good detective novel- I picked up an early Ian Rankin, 'Rebus' (mostly), and then bought all of the others and flew through them in about two months. Similar with Indridason (a fantastic study of the scandi-detective life), SJ Parris (Bruno- excellent central character for fantasy DMs who need a sleuth), and a bunch of the more obvious authors- Mankell, Dexter etc. </p><p></p><p>Read.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe.</p><p></p><p>Cheers goonalan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8052863, member: 16069"] [B]#084 Murder in Cormyr by Chet Williamson (Mysteries 1) Read 28/7/20 to 1/8/20[/B] [ATTACH]124364[/ATTACH] Well, that was different- and very easy (lite). So, a detective novel in which Benelaius does all the big thinking (ex-War Wizard from Cormyr) but our guy- the lead, ex-slop boy Jasper does all the legwork. There's enough here to make a nice story, although the realms thing is just the backdrop to a... well, a plain old detective story (sorta, see below). There are issues- we follow Jasper exclusively, and yet Benelaius and his side-kick Lindavar are the ones that actually solve the murder mystery, and the pair barely get a look in until the end of the book. Which is odd, can you think of another detective novel in which the sleuth stays at home and just sends a constable out to do all of the legwork. I guess it's a choice, and there probably exists a similar detective novel, but odd. "Poirot? Sorry, no- I'm the guy who cleans his smalls. Mind if I have a look around?" The final solution to the murder mystery requires a little understanding of local politics, Sembia and the Iron Throne's machinations- this isn't something that is discussed at length in the novel, I don't think it is mentioned at all... prior to the grand revealing. So, the ending's nice (and neat) but the solution isn't something the reader can really get to easily, or maybe I'm just not that bright. Also, the mystery involves no magic (or anything fantasy fiction, much) so with all the realms to roam, any amount of mystical and magical devices then... there's none of that at all. Which is doubly odd, when I think about it, because the two mystery solvers are both high level wizards. In short it's set in the realms, but doesn't use anything much from the fantasy milieu or location. There's the ghost (and the massively underpowered hydra), but I wont say anymore about these just in case you're going to give this one a go. Last oddity, this is by far the shortest FR book that I have read so far- 247 pages in the hardback, and there's plenty of white space between the chapters, which makes it an incredibly easy/quick read. All of the above caveats aside, I turned the pages tout suite because I was keen to get to the finale and the solution. It did it's job, not badly written- I'd probably prefer something a bit cleverer/visceral, and possibly with a gumshoe that I couldn't put down. I like a good detective novel- I picked up an early Ian Rankin, 'Rebus' (mostly), and then bought all of the others and flew through them in about two months. Similar with Indridason (a fantastic study of the scandi-detective life), SJ Parris (Bruno- excellent central character for fantasy DMs who need a sleuth), and a bunch of the more obvious authors- Mankell, Dexter etc. Read. Stay safe. Cheers goonalan [/QUOTE]
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I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
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