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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: 8362218" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#133 Sands of the Soul by Voronica Whitney-Robinson (Sembia 6) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 27/7/21 to 1/8/21</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]141626[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>So, apologies in advance but I'm going to say some less than complimentary things about this one, although- just to make clear, it's not terrible- it does what it says on the tin (as it were) it's just not very sophisticated, or else... well, it comes in light. Light on everything- characterisation, plot, language, excitement, etc. Again, it's not a failure, it just failed to get my motor running, repeatedly.</p><p></p><p>So, where to start- well to begin with this is the least Tazi- Tazi that I have encountered so far, the fact that she's mostly 2d doesn't help. She doesn't stand out in any way- she's not the minx that we've read all about in the previous novels, she seems forlorn- and I get she's recovering from all of the bad stuff that happened, but... I'm not buying it. Tazi is no longer fun, or smart, she just follows her nose, does a variety of dumb things- she's just so gullible, there seems to be no reason for many of her choices- beyond it's the path of least resistance.</p><p></p><p>But she's not alone Steorf is mostly an arse, beyond being an arse... well, there's not much to recommend him, and even less to like. </p><p></p><p>Fannah is blind, and again, beyond that- well, she does nothing much. Don't get me wrong- she gets the odd line but, there's not a lot made of her.</p><p></p><p>Ciredor, the villain, has moments of cruel and evil, and thus he comes alive- chattering to himself (and telling us the plot) and rubbing his hands together building up to his next Mwha-ha-ha! He's alright, although the defeating of Ciredor is just... well, if I was DMing a game and this was the finale- I'd get lynched.</p><p></p><p>There's also something to the fact that although some (many) of these books seem to pay only slight concession to the D&D game, this one... well, again- I just keep getting tripped up by this stuff. There's a moment when the heroes struggle to contain a pack of rats, which is okay- however earlier on they accounted for half-a-dozen aranea with only a little bother, but not too much. The heroes, particularly Tazi and Steorf, well in previous books you can pretty much figure the classes for the protagonists and antagonists, but this one, it's just messy. Steorf struggles to maintain his light spell, but had no problems dishing out fiery obliteration to anything that looked at him funny, just two days previous.</p><p></p><p>It all just seems convenient, as in the author adds tension (or attempts to) by deflating the heroes powers and or abilities, or else by having them wander into the next set-up/trap. </p><p></p><p>Then there's the plot- it's a straight line, pretty much, and it either just falls into Tazi's lap or else, she does the dumb thing and then a while later figures it out.</p><p></p><p>There are maybe half-a-dozen fleshed out characters here, and when I say fleshed out... well, nothing like the people I've come to know in the previous books. It's just not busy, or complex- the story and the folk in it just roll on.</p><p></p><p>There are a few nice locations (the minarets) that have enough about them for me to think about pinching something for my own game, but really not enough- a lot of it could take place anywhere. It's very generic, no location comes alive.</p><p></p><p>I liked the, sorry The, Lurker for a while but even he turned dumb, and pretty much got thrown away at then end. </p><p></p><p>It's all a little too easy, I thought at first I was reading a novel for younger readers- even the language is unsophisticated, although that, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing. But, there's just so little to recommend it.</p><p></p><p>Read.</p><p></p><p>Stay frosty.</p><p></p><p>Cheers goonalan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8362218, member: 16069"] [B]#133 Sands of the Soul by Voronica Whitney-Robinson (Sembia 6) Read 27/7/21 to 1/8/21[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="173px"]141626[/ATTACH] So, apologies in advance but I'm going to say some less than complimentary things about this one, although- just to make clear, it's not terrible- it does what it says on the tin (as it were) it's just not very sophisticated, or else... well, it comes in light. Light on everything- characterisation, plot, language, excitement, etc. Again, it's not a failure, it just failed to get my motor running, repeatedly. So, where to start- well to begin with this is the least Tazi- Tazi that I have encountered so far, the fact that she's mostly 2d doesn't help. She doesn't stand out in any way- she's not the minx that we've read all about in the previous novels, she seems forlorn- and I get she's recovering from all of the bad stuff that happened, but... I'm not buying it. Tazi is no longer fun, or smart, she just follows her nose, does a variety of dumb things- she's just so gullible, there seems to be no reason for many of her choices- beyond it's the path of least resistance. But she's not alone Steorf is mostly an arse, beyond being an arse... well, there's not much to recommend him, and even less to like. Fannah is blind, and again, beyond that- well, she does nothing much. Don't get me wrong- she gets the odd line but, there's not a lot made of her. Ciredor, the villain, has moments of cruel and evil, and thus he comes alive- chattering to himself (and telling us the plot) and rubbing his hands together building up to his next Mwha-ha-ha! He's alright, although the defeating of Ciredor is just... well, if I was DMing a game and this was the finale- I'd get lynched. There's also something to the fact that although some (many) of these books seem to pay only slight concession to the D&D game, this one... well, again- I just keep getting tripped up by this stuff. There's a moment when the heroes struggle to contain a pack of rats, which is okay- however earlier on they accounted for half-a-dozen aranea with only a little bother, but not too much. The heroes, particularly Tazi and Steorf, well in previous books you can pretty much figure the classes for the protagonists and antagonists, but this one, it's just messy. Steorf struggles to maintain his light spell, but had no problems dishing out fiery obliteration to anything that looked at him funny, just two days previous. It all just seems convenient, as in the author adds tension (or attempts to) by deflating the heroes powers and or abilities, or else by having them wander into the next set-up/trap. Then there's the plot- it's a straight line, pretty much, and it either just falls into Tazi's lap or else, she does the dumb thing and then a while later figures it out. There are maybe half-a-dozen fleshed out characters here, and when I say fleshed out... well, nothing like the people I've come to know in the previous books. It's just not busy, or complex- the story and the folk in it just roll on. There are a few nice locations (the minarets) that have enough about them for me to think about pinching something for my own game, but really not enough- a lot of it could take place anywhere. It's very generic, no location comes alive. I liked the, sorry The, Lurker for a while but even he turned dumb, and pretty much got thrown away at then end. It's all a little too easy, I thought at first I was reading a novel for younger readers- even the language is unsophisticated, although that, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing. But, there's just so little to recommend it. Read. Stay frosty. Cheers goonalan [/QUOTE]
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