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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: 8606801" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#156 The Alabaster Staff by Edward Bolme (Rogues 1) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 14/4/22 to 16/4/22</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]155474[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>It's a very odd book, I thought at first that I was on to a good one but that soon petered out, it's just too, I hate to use the word 'unbelievable' while discussing the Fantasy Fiction oeuvre, but- I don't get it.</p><p></p><p>Very specifically this is what I don't get.</p><p></p><p>Who the F is Jaldi, we follow this miscreant over the wall and into the city of Messemprar and then about 30-40 pages later we see him again, I think, briefly- he waves or else exchanges a line with our hero, the rogue- Kehrsyn, and then... That's Jaldi done, not another word for the entire novel. Just an odd way into the story... but, there's a lot of that.</p><p></p><p>So, Kehrsyn- downtrodden, her mother raped by a cruel man with money and power, her father killed, she's lead a hard life and yet... And yet she's a gullible fool (at the outset) seemingly on her first day out in the real world. Later, a variety of seemingly powerful and cruel men (and women), including a rapacious merchant (would be maniac), a high priestess of Tiamat, a Red Wizard, a mercenary professional killer, and... well, everyone else Kehrsyn meets really, are all of them instantly struck by how honest and good she is, and... they're really nice folk too.</p><p></p><p>This, of course, in the midst of a backstabbing double-dealing crisis in the city, as a variety of factions attempt to claim top-dog before the Mulhorand army turns up and flattens the lot of 'em. It's all just so... contrived, nothing bad ever happens to our hero- she's great at her job (well, a bit) but either folk just believe her (and then take her into their confidence) or else... well, everything just works out for the best.</p><p></p><p>Particularly amusing (actually, laughable) is the dumpy, frowsy, I just want someone to like me Priestess of Tiamat, Tiglath. Was there a time in the Faerun story when worshippers of Tiamat were on the side of right? Did I miss a meeting?</p><p></p><p>It's just a mess of unpleasant factions, in a city starving, tearing itself apart, with the Dead Cart picking up new victims each morning and... for our girl the birds are singing, everyone trusts her/likes her/loves her, or else- here have some money, a room, something to eat, and... it's just a nonsense. There's a bit of me that's not sure this is a book for adults, it's just so simple.</p><p></p><p>Ahegi, the only character that doesn't like Kehrsyn from the start, well... SPOILERS- he's the bad guy. I get that Massedar is also the villain but, Demok has already told us this (as did Ahegi when he ran to his boss). It's just way too simple, like... for the kids.</p><p></p><p>Also, what's with the Alabaster Staff? Kehrsyn, I think, kills the reincarnated/reanimated (by the aforementioned staff) Gilgeam by shoving the rod into the raised God and erm... snapping it, or else it breaks. Is that what happened? I'm still not sure.</p><p></p><p>There's some other really odd stuff here, odd quips and one-liners which are super cheesy, and there's a paragraph in which a guard says have a 'night ride', instead of, 'nice ride' and then takes another couple of lines to explain his mistake. The guard is no-one, the line means nothing, while other books pack in the wham-bam-jam this one tootles, and idles, and strolls- eating up ink with asides and oddities that tell us nothing about anyone close to the story.</p><p></p><p>It's down there with Once Around the Realms. </p><p></p><p>Read- it's not good.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well, cheers goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8606801, member: 16069"] [B]#156 The Alabaster Staff by Edward Bolme (Rogues 1) Read 14/4/22 to 16/4/22[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="208px"]155474[/ATTACH] It's a very odd book, I thought at first that I was on to a good one but that soon petered out, it's just too, I hate to use the word 'unbelievable' while discussing the Fantasy Fiction oeuvre, but- I don't get it. Very specifically this is what I don't get. Who the F is Jaldi, we follow this miscreant over the wall and into the city of Messemprar and then about 30-40 pages later we see him again, I think, briefly- he waves or else exchanges a line with our hero, the rogue- Kehrsyn, and then... That's Jaldi done, not another word for the entire novel. Just an odd way into the story... but, there's a lot of that. So, Kehrsyn- downtrodden, her mother raped by a cruel man with money and power, her father killed, she's lead a hard life and yet... And yet she's a gullible fool (at the outset) seemingly on her first day out in the real world. Later, a variety of seemingly powerful and cruel men (and women), including a rapacious merchant (would be maniac), a high priestess of Tiamat, a Red Wizard, a mercenary professional killer, and... well, everyone else Kehrsyn meets really, are all of them instantly struck by how honest and good she is, and... they're really nice folk too. This, of course, in the midst of a backstabbing double-dealing crisis in the city, as a variety of factions attempt to claim top-dog before the Mulhorand army turns up and flattens the lot of 'em. It's all just so... contrived, nothing bad ever happens to our hero- she's great at her job (well, a bit) but either folk just believe her (and then take her into their confidence) or else... well, everything just works out for the best. Particularly amusing (actually, laughable) is the dumpy, frowsy, I just want someone to like me Priestess of Tiamat, Tiglath. Was there a time in the Faerun story when worshippers of Tiamat were on the side of right? Did I miss a meeting? It's just a mess of unpleasant factions, in a city starving, tearing itself apart, with the Dead Cart picking up new victims each morning and... for our girl the birds are singing, everyone trusts her/likes her/loves her, or else- here have some money, a room, something to eat, and... it's just a nonsense. There's a bit of me that's not sure this is a book for adults, it's just so simple. Ahegi, the only character that doesn't like Kehrsyn from the start, well... SPOILERS- he's the bad guy. I get that Massedar is also the villain but, Demok has already told us this (as did Ahegi when he ran to his boss). It's just way too simple, like... for the kids. Also, what's with the Alabaster Staff? Kehrsyn, I think, kills the reincarnated/reanimated (by the aforementioned staff) Gilgeam by shoving the rod into the raised God and erm... snapping it, or else it breaks. Is that what happened? I'm still not sure. There's some other really odd stuff here, odd quips and one-liners which are super cheesy, and there's a paragraph in which a guard says have a 'night ride', instead of, 'nice ride' and then takes another couple of lines to explain his mistake. The guard is no-one, the line means nothing, while other books pack in the wham-bam-jam this one tootles, and idles, and strolls- eating up ink with asides and oddities that tell us nothing about anyone close to the story. It's down there with Once Around the Realms. Read- it's not good. Stay safe and well, cheers goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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