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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: 8479060" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#147 Extinction by Lisa Smedman (War Spider Queen 4) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 4/12/21 to 7/12/21</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]147990[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>And there's a bit of me that thinks that this is the best one yet in this series, and in particular because this one just seems to go places, it's one of those novels in which the author's brief is to get a variety of characters from point A to point B. Lisa Smedman does his with style and aplomb.</p><p></p><p>True to say that the main characters in this one are more often than not Halisstra & Ryld, and their blossoming non-Drow style romance, right the way down to the SPOILER point in which one of the pair 'gives' themself to the other.</p><p></p><p>I liked the Eilistraee moments a lot, that's the way to find a new goddess- kill the priestess that takes a chance and believes in you, and then figure out afterwards that you are the bad guy in your own story. Then, get given a second chance...</p><p></p><p>If Halisstra switches sides again, in the end, I'm going to be sore. I loved the fact that (as with all things drow) it's the love-sick, sorry Melee-Magthere weapons master, Ryld that has to slope around in the background, trying to make sense of it all.</p><p></p><p>Because there's a chunk of this then there's less of some of the other guys/favourites here- Pharaun, Quenthel, Jeggred, Danifae and Valas. But here's the thing- they stay the same, there's no deviation (for me) from the iterations of these character as portrayed in the previous novels. They're true to form, but better still- the cracks are starting to appear, and its wonderful to watch, even Valas is making snide remarks and getting teenage-grumpy. They're falling apart, or else the oh-so-slow-burn Pharaun-shaped rebellion is building to a head. We've got to get to Pharaun (& Aliisza/Gromph/Valas) versus Quenthel (& Jeggred) or some variant of the same.</p><p></p><p>But don't tell me, don't give it away.</p><p></p><p>Better still, the places they go in this one- from the Cold Field and the tattered and broken undead there, with added extra Purple Worm action. Oothoon the aboleth and his chums are just glorious, and I've been called to DM aboleth's in the past, and now- at bloody last, I've read this one and know how to do it properly. Then there's the Lake of Shadows, and the drow demon captain of the Chaos Ship, stuck in a perpetual storm. And crypts, and wights, and wraiths, and I've forgotten some of the stuff from the start.</p><p></p><p>There's just so much to see, hear and like.</p><p></p><p>This one is just epic, an epic adventure- there's a bit of me that keeps thinking back to D1-3 & Q1 (after the Giants) and thinking- they should have made this one as well, this should be a mega-adventure, or else get ported somehow.</p><p></p><p>The other itch in my brain that I keep having to scratch is memories of 4e, not the system you understand, but the presentation of adventures as being a series of encounters rather than a sprawling dungeon/plot that the players had to dig their way through. Late 3.5e and 4e (WotC published) adventures (caveat, some of them) seemed to me to have a strange (good, at times) structure that at least pointed more towards epic.</p><p></p><p>This one is like that- three cracking high level environmentally rich encounters in a row, or else- at times, just a series of crash-bang-wallop climaxes.</p><p></p><p>Everything is epic, terrible and glorious.</p><p></p><p>But the heroes keep being smarter than that.</p><p></p><p>I really liked this one, kudos to the author for carrying the story, developing the characters, and all towards somebody else's big bang ending (fingers-crossed). There are so many balls that Lisa Smedman has just kept spinning, faster and faster, we plunge on.</p><p></p><p>Bloody hell, and I didn't even mention events back in Menzo, so much good stuff...</p><p></p><p>Sorry if I got a bit fanboy there, forgive me.</p><p></p><p>Great work.</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: 8479060, member: 16069"] [B]#147 Extinction by Lisa Smedman (War Spider Queen 4) Read 4/12/21 to 7/12/21[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="186px" alt="IMG_3205.JPG"]147990[/ATTACH] And there's a bit of me that thinks that this is the best one yet in this series, and in particular because this one just seems to go places, it's one of those novels in which the author's brief is to get a variety of characters from point A to point B. Lisa Smedman does his with style and aplomb. True to say that the main characters in this one are more often than not Halisstra & Ryld, and their blossoming non-Drow style romance, right the way down to the SPOILER point in which one of the pair 'gives' themself to the other. I liked the Eilistraee moments a lot, that's the way to find a new goddess- kill the priestess that takes a chance and believes in you, and then figure out afterwards that you are the bad guy in your own story. Then, get given a second chance... If Halisstra switches sides again, in the end, I'm going to be sore. I loved the fact that (as with all things drow) it's the love-sick, sorry Melee-Magthere weapons master, Ryld that has to slope around in the background, trying to make sense of it all. Because there's a chunk of this then there's less of some of the other guys/favourites here- Pharaun, Quenthel, Jeggred, Danifae and Valas. But here's the thing- they stay the same, there's no deviation (for me) from the iterations of these character as portrayed in the previous novels. They're true to form, but better still- the cracks are starting to appear, and its wonderful to watch, even Valas is making snide remarks and getting teenage-grumpy. They're falling apart, or else the oh-so-slow-burn Pharaun-shaped rebellion is building to a head. We've got to get to Pharaun (& Aliisza/Gromph/Valas) versus Quenthel (& Jeggred) or some variant of the same. But don't tell me, don't give it away. Better still, the places they go in this one- from the Cold Field and the tattered and broken undead there, with added extra Purple Worm action. Oothoon the aboleth and his chums are just glorious, and I've been called to DM aboleth's in the past, and now- at bloody last, I've read this one and know how to do it properly. Then there's the Lake of Shadows, and the drow demon captain of the Chaos Ship, stuck in a perpetual storm. And crypts, and wights, and wraiths, and I've forgotten some of the stuff from the start. There's just so much to see, hear and like. This one is just epic, an epic adventure- there's a bit of me that keeps thinking back to D1-3 & Q1 (after the Giants) and thinking- they should have made this one as well, this should be a mega-adventure, or else get ported somehow. The other itch in my brain that I keep having to scratch is memories of 4e, not the system you understand, but the presentation of adventures as being a series of encounters rather than a sprawling dungeon/plot that the players had to dig their way through. Late 3.5e and 4e (WotC published) adventures (caveat, some of them) seemed to me to have a strange (good, at times) structure that at least pointed more towards epic. This one is like that- three cracking high level environmentally rich encounters in a row, or else- at times, just a series of crash-bang-wallop climaxes. Everything is epic, terrible and glorious. But the heroes keep being smarter than that. I really liked this one, kudos to the author for carrying the story, developing the characters, and all towards somebody else's big bang ending (fingers-crossed). There are so many balls that Lisa Smedman has just kept spinning, faster and faster, we plunge on. Bloody hell, and I didn't even mention events back in Menzo, so much good stuff... Sorry if I got a bit fanboy there, forgive me. Great work. Read. Stay safe and well you lovely people. Cheers goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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