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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: 7995890" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#072 The Temptation of Elminster by Ed Greenwood (Elminster 3) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 14/5/20 to 21/5/20</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]122213[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Book 3- and odd. So, it starts off with what seem to be tales of Elminster's courage and his testing (maybe) by Mystra- here's the situation, make your choices- keep the faith, and do the right thing. And to begin with that kinda works, or else I'm happily reading along, taking it all in- Elminster making wise and clever choices to save adventurers, a realm (eventually) and to preserve the pureness of his love for his deity (or some such). So, that's okay- although I can't help but feel that some of these tales don't quite fit together, like they're short stories (or the beginnings of other books) that have been somehow cobbled and glued into one.</p><p></p><p>I get it- he's being tested, the Temptation (with a capital 'T') of Elminster, there's a queue of folk on hand to tell us what happens when Archmages go bad. El emerges from the tomb (with his new found semi-friends) and after the sleep of ages goes about Toril following Mystra's commands, proving himself to her again and again.</p><p></p><p>But there are so many other stories here, it's a little haphazard at times- the pack that are trailing El keeps growing, particularly towards the end of the novel. There are a pair of Thompson Twins style Mystra Priest-Mages that have seen the light and are now scuttling after El, doing their comic thing every now and then. Then the there's the killer mist that burns folk (and wildlife) from the inside out- lets call her the Lady of Shadows, although I'm at the end, of course, but I'm still not certain how and why. Then there's the last of the Starym Elves from Myth Drannor, out to slay the great enemy (El) that brought his house low- this guy seems to get killed every time he gets close to his prey, but then keeps on coming back- a little less, and a little more (mad) every time. Later on there are the Leather Goddesses of Phobos (sorry adherents of Shar) to contend with, and others- Caladaster (Cleric Quintet) even pops up towards the finale, an old man now- supping alongside another Realmsian hero parked in the tavern close by the final problem- the Slayer.</p><p></p><p>How and why the Slayer ended up being the big finale I'll never know. It seems contrived, tacked on, a suitable spell battle to play out and then skip to the El & Mystra reconciliation. But, hey-ho...</p><p></p><p>At this point, with maybe fifty pages to go- I'm still struggling to connect the stories presented here, except for the rough cover-all plot/theme- the Temptations of Elminster. The enemies El faces seem to be alternatively passive- waiting around doing other things, and then aggressive- plotting and preparing to claim for themselves the Chosen and all that he represents. But the fear and trepidation they cause (let's call it conflict) waxes and wanes, particularly as their failures mount. </p><p></p><p>There are other stories in here, other lives, all of which we visit with briefly- and I get that the author is lining up the next bit of the plot but some of the walk-on-parts just feel a bit convoluted/constructed/confusing. By confusing I don't mean difficult to understand, I just mean that the something they're presenting to us- the next threat or part of the tale, could have been achieved less clunkily, rather than just keep churning out and putting in new characters with complicated names and titles for the reader to keep trying to soak up.</p><p></p><p>It feels like a book that either a) took a long time to write, or else b) that was written over an extended period of time, with a variety of half-started/finished stories gathered together quickly and then all crammed into the plot (such as it is) and done very quickly.</p><p></p><p>A hundred pages into the novel and when the Mrs asked "What's this one about?" which she does, every now and then- I like that she takes an interest in me still. My reply- "I'm still not sure, it's a ragbag." Later on she asked again and I made the same reply- the same, almost to the end.</p><p></p><p>There are bits here to enjoy, El is still very good at being El- he's wise and lordly- kind and responsible, a little vain, and very aware that he is (happily) in charge of the situation (whatever the situation). I like that, and he's still about trying to fix things without a fuss. Kudos.</p><p></p><p>There are other times, particularly in the middle section (Dasumia) when the angry inside me wants to break free- I get that he's treading a very narrow line- trying to stay true to Mystra, while at the same time serving Dasumia, but... I got to the end of this section far quicker than the author. Do the right thing, El.</p><p></p><p>Then there's another chapter or two of the gods descent to Toril, the death (not) of Mystra, and all magic gone leery- but in here, and again just adding more to the mix- it's all a bit too much at times, and later on in the final celebrity Wizard Blast Off- El/Azuth/Caladaster/the Shar Magic-Priests with their Armageddon magic supplies/the Lady of Shadows/Starym-heap-big-one-leg-crazy-Elf and... it's just like some of the later novels. The reader knows that El's going to be saved (most likely) by something/one and will go on (sometime he even manages to save himself). We just have to wade through the magic-fire treacle to get there.</p><p></p><p>So, read.</p><p></p><p>I'm still a little confused by it all, apologies if the above review made even less sense than usual.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7995890, member: 16069"] [B]#072 The Temptation of Elminster by Ed Greenwood (Elminster 3) Read 14/5/20 to 21/5/20[/B] [ATTACH]122213[/ATTACH] Book 3- and odd. So, it starts off with what seem to be tales of Elminster's courage and his testing (maybe) by Mystra- here's the situation, make your choices- keep the faith, and do the right thing. And to begin with that kinda works, or else I'm happily reading along, taking it all in- Elminster making wise and clever choices to save adventurers, a realm (eventually) and to preserve the pureness of his love for his deity (or some such). So, that's okay- although I can't help but feel that some of these tales don't quite fit together, like they're short stories (or the beginnings of other books) that have been somehow cobbled and glued into one. I get it- he's being tested, the Temptation (with a capital 'T') of Elminster, there's a queue of folk on hand to tell us what happens when Archmages go bad. El emerges from the tomb (with his new found semi-friends) and after the sleep of ages goes about Toril following Mystra's commands, proving himself to her again and again. But there are so many other stories here, it's a little haphazard at times- the pack that are trailing El keeps growing, particularly towards the end of the novel. There are a pair of Thompson Twins style Mystra Priest-Mages that have seen the light and are now scuttling after El, doing their comic thing every now and then. Then the there's the killer mist that burns folk (and wildlife) from the inside out- lets call her the Lady of Shadows, although I'm at the end, of course, but I'm still not certain how and why. Then there's the last of the Starym Elves from Myth Drannor, out to slay the great enemy (El) that brought his house low- this guy seems to get killed every time he gets close to his prey, but then keeps on coming back- a little less, and a little more (mad) every time. Later on there are the Leather Goddesses of Phobos (sorry adherents of Shar) to contend with, and others- Caladaster (Cleric Quintet) even pops up towards the finale, an old man now- supping alongside another Realmsian hero parked in the tavern close by the final problem- the Slayer. How and why the Slayer ended up being the big finale I'll never know. It seems contrived, tacked on, a suitable spell battle to play out and then skip to the El & Mystra reconciliation. But, hey-ho... At this point, with maybe fifty pages to go- I'm still struggling to connect the stories presented here, except for the rough cover-all plot/theme- the Temptations of Elminster. The enemies El faces seem to be alternatively passive- waiting around doing other things, and then aggressive- plotting and preparing to claim for themselves the Chosen and all that he represents. But the fear and trepidation they cause (let's call it conflict) waxes and wanes, particularly as their failures mount. There are other stories in here, other lives, all of which we visit with briefly- and I get that the author is lining up the next bit of the plot but some of the walk-on-parts just feel a bit convoluted/constructed/confusing. By confusing I don't mean difficult to understand, I just mean that the something they're presenting to us- the next threat or part of the tale, could have been achieved less clunkily, rather than just keep churning out and putting in new characters with complicated names and titles for the reader to keep trying to soak up. It feels like a book that either a) took a long time to write, or else b) that was written over an extended period of time, with a variety of half-started/finished stories gathered together quickly and then all crammed into the plot (such as it is) and done very quickly. A hundred pages into the novel and when the Mrs asked "What's this one about?" which she does, every now and then- I like that she takes an interest in me still. My reply- "I'm still not sure, it's a ragbag." Later on she asked again and I made the same reply- the same, almost to the end. There are bits here to enjoy, El is still very good at being El- he's wise and lordly- kind and responsible, a little vain, and very aware that he is (happily) in charge of the situation (whatever the situation). I like that, and he's still about trying to fix things without a fuss. Kudos. There are other times, particularly in the middle section (Dasumia) when the angry inside me wants to break free- I get that he's treading a very narrow line- trying to stay true to Mystra, while at the same time serving Dasumia, but... I got to the end of this section far quicker than the author. Do the right thing, El. Then there's another chapter or two of the gods descent to Toril, the death (not) of Mystra, and all magic gone leery- but in here, and again just adding more to the mix- it's all a bit too much at times, and later on in the final celebrity Wizard Blast Off- El/Azuth/Caladaster/the Shar Magic-Priests with their Armageddon magic supplies/the Lady of Shadows/Starym-heap-big-one-leg-crazy-Elf and... it's just like some of the later novels. The reader knows that El's going to be saved (most likely) by something/one and will go on (sometime he even manages to save himself). We just have to wade through the magic-fire treacle to get there. So, read. I'm still a little confused by it all, apologies if the above review made even less sense than usual. [/QUOTE]
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