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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: 8244995" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#121 Baldur's Gate by Philip Athans (Baldur's Gate 1) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 9/4/21 to 12/4/21</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]135438[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The first thing to say is I have never played the computer game version of this so I have nothing to go on, nothing to prejudice it as it were.</p><p></p><p>To begin with I liked the novel, it's well written and seems (at the beginning) to stick to a coherent/cohesive thread, later... it gets a bit jumpy, and in part it seems to whizz places and is therefore for me, a little less likeable. More like a series of short adventures/action sequences, perhaps kept apart by intertitles and/or cut screens. Although this may just be me seeing things that are not really there.</p><p></p><p>I liked it at the beginning (and throughout, mostly) because folk die, by which I mean the good guys die, although 'good' maybe stretching things because the heroes here all have something (bad) to hide. The half-elf Harper and unfaithful husband of Jaheira (I forget his name), the Zhent halfling, Xan- the rescued prisoner etc. They've all got secrets to keep. </p><p></p><p>I didn't at all dig the scene when Abdel gets a meeting with Eltan, big chief of Baldur's Gate, it seemed contrived- and odd. A low level hero being let in to the Lord's chamber for a chat, from nothing to advisor/confidante of the big cheese.</p><p></p><p>Likewise from this point on there seemed to me to be less of the villains, and like in all good novels you want to see what's going on with the dark side. It's also at this point that the players- Abdel & Jaheira also seem to skip about a bit, the mundane travel sequences/investigations are glossed over, and for me- in what is already a slim book, I kept feeling like things were just playing out, rather than the heroes being about their work.</p><p></p><p>Also, the pair seemed to get too tough too quickly, or at least Abdel is finding his meter, and goes from taking a beating (but winning through) when facing low level mooks, and then... suddenly, his man-o-et-man-o versus the big bad, and more than holding his own.</p><p></p><p>But again- I like Abdel and Jaheira, their love story is, of course, much less convincing but I like that they're deeply flawed and that we get to see Abdel unravel, a little, of his own story- and try to work out along the way who he is and what that means.</p><p></p><p>It's not an emotional roller-coaster, it just plays out.</p><p></p><p>The rest of it, well- sexuality is clearly a thing now- overt here, but not laboured; likewise the world presented is a lot less sweet and innocent than the Faerun presented in other novels. Baldur's Gate, and Candlekeep, are both shown as being corrupt(-ish) and grim (& perilous) worlds. I like that too.</p><p></p><p>It's also well written, and there are even a few off-hand swears, which again is to be admired, and part and parcel of that self same nasty(-ish) milieu.</p><p></p><p>Nice set up for the next novel. </p><p></p><p>Read.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8244995, member: 16069"] [B]#121 Baldur's Gate by Philip Athans (Baldur's Gate 1) Read 9/4/21 to 12/4/21[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="175px"]135438[/ATTACH] The first thing to say is I have never played the computer game version of this so I have nothing to go on, nothing to prejudice it as it were. To begin with I liked the novel, it's well written and seems (at the beginning) to stick to a coherent/cohesive thread, later... it gets a bit jumpy, and in part it seems to whizz places and is therefore for me, a little less likeable. More like a series of short adventures/action sequences, perhaps kept apart by intertitles and/or cut screens. Although this may just be me seeing things that are not really there. I liked it at the beginning (and throughout, mostly) because folk die, by which I mean the good guys die, although 'good' maybe stretching things because the heroes here all have something (bad) to hide. The half-elf Harper and unfaithful husband of Jaheira (I forget his name), the Zhent halfling, Xan- the rescued prisoner etc. They've all got secrets to keep. I didn't at all dig the scene when Abdel gets a meeting with Eltan, big chief of Baldur's Gate, it seemed contrived- and odd. A low level hero being let in to the Lord's chamber for a chat, from nothing to advisor/confidante of the big cheese. Likewise from this point on there seemed to me to be less of the villains, and like in all good novels you want to see what's going on with the dark side. It's also at this point that the players- Abdel & Jaheira also seem to skip about a bit, the mundane travel sequences/investigations are glossed over, and for me- in what is already a slim book, I kept feeling like things were just playing out, rather than the heroes being about their work. Also, the pair seemed to get too tough too quickly, or at least Abdel is finding his meter, and goes from taking a beating (but winning through) when facing low level mooks, and then... suddenly, his man-o-et-man-o versus the big bad, and more than holding his own. But again- I like Abdel and Jaheira, their love story is, of course, much less convincing but I like that they're deeply flawed and that we get to see Abdel unravel, a little, of his own story- and try to work out along the way who he is and what that means. It's not an emotional roller-coaster, it just plays out. The rest of it, well- sexuality is clearly a thing now- overt here, but not laboured; likewise the world presented is a lot less sweet and innocent than the Faerun presented in other novels. Baldur's Gate, and Candlekeep, are both shown as being corrupt(-ish) and grim (& perilous) worlds. I like that too. It's also well written, and there are even a few off-hand swears, which again is to be admired, and part and parcel of that self same nasty(-ish) milieu. Nice set up for the next novel. Read. [/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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