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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: 8329015" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#130 The Shattered Mask by Richard Lee Byers (Sembia 3) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 1/7/21 to 5/7/21</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]139766[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>And another good one, perhaps not as good as the last, but- now I've written that, in some ways better. </p><p></p><p>If you can't figure the plot out for this one by the time you get to about page twenty then you need to give your head a shake, because it's not working right. But that's not really the thing with these books, and particularly if you've read a lot of them.</p><p></p><p>Shamur and Thamalon don't know each other, which is down to the fact (mostly) that Shamur has a secret. Time to let the cat out of the bag, and... everyone lives happily(-ish) ever after. In a nutshell.</p><p></p><p>But again, that much is obvious from the get-go, it's the path it takes that aligns with my fantasy fiction desires.</p><p></p><p>Selgaunt is getting better, or else better known to me (and any other reader), there are places to visit here, and organisations to make use of in your game. Some very nice locales (the theatre, the floating city, the scab), and some equally nice enemy organisations to get your PCs involved with.</p><p></p><p>It's a rip-roaring adventure at times, and with bags of action- and very well plotted- by which I mean the tension is rising, the action (and the spectacle/event) growing. The finale involves a hoard of summoned creatures- behir, gnolls, carrion crawlers; an earthquake like spell- on a densely populated bridge in the middle of the city, the creepiest of devilish minions, and with the creepiest (and yet most polite) dead bad guy wizard.</p><p></p><p>Marance (the dead bad guy wizard) and Bileworm are just a fantastic double act, and more so because the author has not gone the usual route- they're not (just) scheming evil big bads that only speak in proclamation.</p><p></p><p>Marance is so awfully polite (to the rest of his family) and so formal, sure he's a scenery chewing villain but he does it with style and elan. While Bileworm, well... I want one. The evil sidekick that steals the show, a capering dark spirit that devours the fear of its victims.</p><p></p><p>It's the little stuff that makes me grin, as the Talendar patriarch (Marance's brother) squirms on the floor before a great serpent (he's terrified of snakes) Bileworm heads over to watch the spectacle- to drink it all in. I/you can imagine the foul miscreant- gurgling (giggling) and slavering, feeding on the old man's fear. Lovely.</p><p></p><p>Then there's the Uskevren's- Shamur, of course, is the main player in this one but all of the family get a go, and what's great about this (and the three books in the series I have read so far) is that they seem to be in character. By which I mean what I have read so far all gels together, there have been other series here in which character A appears in several novels, and in each seems to be vastly different. Author A does this thing, while author B does something different- the result, character A becomes unbelievable, or else confused, or else (more likely) just annoying. There is consistency here, and I like that.</p><p></p><p>It also helps that Mr Richard Lee Byers has a way with words, it's well written- not overly wordy and saddled with lore and explanation, just... visceral, and clever, and... well, just so nicely put together.</p><p></p><p>I finished the novel liking the Uskreven's better, and that must be a good thing.</p><p></p><p>Don't get me wrong, they're still the A Team, meets Scooby Doo, meets the Adam's Family, meets... oh, but you get my drift. They all have the skills to pay the bills, and they're posh folk with money and resources (which I like here less often). But, they'll do for me- if there's more like this to discover in these novels then I'm going to be a happy man. Whoever it was that co-ordinated the Sembia project did a great job sharing the knowledge, and keeping all of the authors in line.</p><p></p><p>Read- bordering on the great.</p><p></p><p>Scratch that- great.</p><p></p><p>It's a daft thing to say but it also helps that the novels seem to overlap, or else build on what has come before- coherent and more surprisingly for a multi-author project it seems to be building something greater than the sum of its parts. I hope- don't let me down.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well.</p><p></p><p>Cheers goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8329015, member: 16069"] [B]#130 The Shattered Mask by Richard Lee Byers (Sembia 3) Read 1/7/21 to 5/7/21[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="170px"]139766[/ATTACH] And another good one, perhaps not as good as the last, but- now I've written that, in some ways better. If you can't figure the plot out for this one by the time you get to about page twenty then you need to give your head a shake, because it's not working right. But that's not really the thing with these books, and particularly if you've read a lot of them. Shamur and Thamalon don't know each other, which is down to the fact (mostly) that Shamur has a secret. Time to let the cat out of the bag, and... everyone lives happily(-ish) ever after. In a nutshell. But again, that much is obvious from the get-go, it's the path it takes that aligns with my fantasy fiction desires. Selgaunt is getting better, or else better known to me (and any other reader), there are places to visit here, and organisations to make use of in your game. Some very nice locales (the theatre, the floating city, the scab), and some equally nice enemy organisations to get your PCs involved with. It's a rip-roaring adventure at times, and with bags of action- and very well plotted- by which I mean the tension is rising, the action (and the spectacle/event) growing. The finale involves a hoard of summoned creatures- behir, gnolls, carrion crawlers; an earthquake like spell- on a densely populated bridge in the middle of the city, the creepiest of devilish minions, and with the creepiest (and yet most polite) dead bad guy wizard. Marance (the dead bad guy wizard) and Bileworm are just a fantastic double act, and more so because the author has not gone the usual route- they're not (just) scheming evil big bads that only speak in proclamation. Marance is so awfully polite (to the rest of his family) and so formal, sure he's a scenery chewing villain but he does it with style and elan. While Bileworm, well... I want one. The evil sidekick that steals the show, a capering dark spirit that devours the fear of its victims. It's the little stuff that makes me grin, as the Talendar patriarch (Marance's brother) squirms on the floor before a great serpent (he's terrified of snakes) Bileworm heads over to watch the spectacle- to drink it all in. I/you can imagine the foul miscreant- gurgling (giggling) and slavering, feeding on the old man's fear. Lovely. Then there's the Uskevren's- Shamur, of course, is the main player in this one but all of the family get a go, and what's great about this (and the three books in the series I have read so far) is that they seem to be in character. By which I mean what I have read so far all gels together, there have been other series here in which character A appears in several novels, and in each seems to be vastly different. Author A does this thing, while author B does something different- the result, character A becomes unbelievable, or else confused, or else (more likely) just annoying. There is consistency here, and I like that. It also helps that Mr Richard Lee Byers has a way with words, it's well written- not overly wordy and saddled with lore and explanation, just... visceral, and clever, and... well, just so nicely put together. I finished the novel liking the Uskreven's better, and that must be a good thing. Don't get me wrong, they're still the A Team, meets Scooby Doo, meets the Adam's Family, meets... oh, but you get my drift. They all have the skills to pay the bills, and they're posh folk with money and resources (which I like here less often). But, they'll do for me- if there's more like this to discover in these novels then I'm going to be a happy man. Whoever it was that co-ordinated the Sembia project did a great job sharing the knowledge, and keeping all of the authors in line. Read- bordering on the great. Scratch that- great. It's a daft thing to say but it also helps that the novels seem to overlap, or else build on what has come before- coherent and more surprisingly for a multi-author project it seems to be building something greater than the sum of its parts. I hope- don't let me down. Stay safe and well. Cheers goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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