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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: 8379761" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#136 Temple Hill by Drew Karpyshyn (Cities 2) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 18/8/21 to 21/8/21</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]142540[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Well, this one is a bit of an odd one- there were parts of it that just raced by- adventure by the plenty, a trio of semi-decent characters, and some nice villains to boot. But then... well, there were bits that I just didn't get, or else in the moment, while reading it, I couldn't get my head around.</p><p></p><p>There's this thing that Drew Karpyshyn does, and for the life of me- even now, at the end, I still can't work out if I liked it or not.</p><p></p><p>Apologies, let me explain.</p><p></p><p>So, the author will set a scene- our good guys- Corin, Lhasha & Fendel will get into action against an enemy or three, and then after a blow-by-blow account we'll get to crux point, and then... Next chapter- scroll back in time and do the last five, ten, fifteen minutes of the action again (with a lot of the same lines)- only from the POV of one of the villains of the piece.</p><p></p><p>Then, the story will advance some more- only now seen from the selected villain's POV, until another vital moment, cliff-hanger, chapter end.</p><p></p><p>Then reverse, back to the first good guy's POV, rewind five minutes and do it all again- all the way to the second pivotal moment and beyond.</p><p></p><p>I still can't figure out if I liked this or not, sometimes it just felt daft- a couple of times I found myself wondering whether I had lost my page in the book- why am I reading the same lines/situation again, have I missed something here.</p><p></p><p>Then... well, there's a bit of grade inflation, or rather villain inflation.</p><p></p><p>The finale [SPOILERS] is hit after hit- and we start with a bunch of smuggler warriors, then add Graal (the smarter than the average Orog) who gets tougher/levels up as the book progresses, seemingly (or else his various magical arms and armour do). Then there's a bad ass wizard...</p><p></p><p>Then the wall explodes and here comes Azlar (Cult of the Dragon well-spell-stocked Wizard) and he's brought a small army with him.</p><p></p><p>But what's this- now there's a small army of smugglers to fight the cultists.</p><p></p><p>Then, I almost forgot, there's the medusa!</p><p></p><p>Then... you'll like this.</p><p></p><p>The beholder turns up.</p><p></p><p>So, it snowballs... but that's not necessarily a bad thing (maybe).</p><p></p><p>But here's the thing- our three intrepid heroes are not much involved in the big fight/finale, they get to watch it all kick off, and then light out when the big-bad-eye-guy tips up.</p><p></p><p>But don't worry, there are another four false/pseudo-finales still to play out.</p><p></p><p>And, at the very end, it's very 'they all lived happily ever after', there's more edge in an episode of the Waltons.</p><p></p><p>The effect of all of this, if anything, is to lessen the climax.</p><p></p><p>That's not right.</p><p></p><p>Lastly, and it sounds like I'm really down on this one- only I promise you I'm not, there's some nice stuff in here.</p><p></p><p>But, lastly- there's not much about Temple Hill in here, I mean- there's a bit about the temples there- Gond, Waukeen and Lathander (from memory). But only one of these gets visited- Gond, another- Lathander, has bad memories for Corin (they didn't fix his hand- they took his coin*), and the last- Waukeen, is only mentioned.</p><p></p><p>Why's the book called Temple Hill?</p><p></p><p>*Corin is, and this is being polite, a surly bugger. Not a pleasant man- eaten-up inside etc. I don't blame Lathander (or his priests) for not being able to heal him. He's a bit of an arse at times in the narrative.</p><p></p><p>Read.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well you lovely people.</p><p></p><p>Cheers goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8379761, member: 16069"] [B]#136 Temple Hill by Drew Karpyshyn (Cities 2) Read 18/8/21 to 21/8/21[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="190px"]142540[/ATTACH] Well, this one is a bit of an odd one- there were parts of it that just raced by- adventure by the plenty, a trio of semi-decent characters, and some nice villains to boot. But then... well, there were bits that I just didn't get, or else in the moment, while reading it, I couldn't get my head around. There's this thing that Drew Karpyshyn does, and for the life of me- even now, at the end, I still can't work out if I liked it or not. Apologies, let me explain. So, the author will set a scene- our good guys- Corin, Lhasha & Fendel will get into action against an enemy or three, and then after a blow-by-blow account we'll get to crux point, and then... Next chapter- scroll back in time and do the last five, ten, fifteen minutes of the action again (with a lot of the same lines)- only from the POV of one of the villains of the piece. Then, the story will advance some more- only now seen from the selected villain's POV, until another vital moment, cliff-hanger, chapter end. Then reverse, back to the first good guy's POV, rewind five minutes and do it all again- all the way to the second pivotal moment and beyond. I still can't figure out if I liked this or not, sometimes it just felt daft- a couple of times I found myself wondering whether I had lost my page in the book- why am I reading the same lines/situation again, have I missed something here. Then... well, there's a bit of grade inflation, or rather villain inflation. The finale [SPOILERS] is hit after hit- and we start with a bunch of smuggler warriors, then add Graal (the smarter than the average Orog) who gets tougher/levels up as the book progresses, seemingly (or else his various magical arms and armour do). Then there's a bad ass wizard... Then the wall explodes and here comes Azlar (Cult of the Dragon well-spell-stocked Wizard) and he's brought a small army with him. But what's this- now there's a small army of smugglers to fight the cultists. Then, I almost forgot, there's the medusa! Then... you'll like this. The beholder turns up. So, it snowballs... but that's not necessarily a bad thing (maybe). But here's the thing- our three intrepid heroes are not much involved in the big fight/finale, they get to watch it all kick off, and then light out when the big-bad-eye-guy tips up. But don't worry, there are another four false/pseudo-finales still to play out. And, at the very end, it's very 'they all lived happily ever after', there's more edge in an episode of the Waltons. The effect of all of this, if anything, is to lessen the climax. That's not right. Lastly, and it sounds like I'm really down on this one- only I promise you I'm not, there's some nice stuff in here. But, lastly- there's not much about Temple Hill in here, I mean- there's a bit about the temples there- Gond, Waukeen and Lathander (from memory). But only one of these gets visited- Gond, another- Lathander, has bad memories for Corin (they didn't fix his hand- they took his coin*), and the last- Waukeen, is only mentioned. Why's the book called Temple Hill? *Corin is, and this is being polite, a surly bugger. Not a pleasant man- eaten-up inside etc. I don't blame Lathander (or his priests) for not being able to heal him. He's a bit of an arse at times in the narrative. Read. Stay safe and well you lovely people. Cheers goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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