Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8629778" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#160 Venom's Taste by Lisa Smedman (Serpents 1) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 3/5/22 to 9/5/22</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]156920[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Well, it started well enough, and there’s lots to learn for a guy like me that’s nosing his way around the Realms, Hlondeth seems to be a fun little city- home and ruled by the yuan-ti, and everyone else… the humans, well- they’re mostly slaves or else they’ve performed some other service to earn their chevrons.</p><p></p><p>So, there’s a bit of threat from the get-go, and yet… it’s no darker or else nastier than the merchant streets of Selgaunt, or anywhere else really. I like the architecture of the place, and the set up/opening chapters make it clear how the city runs, and who’s in charge. A little later we visit Execution Square but by then, well the plot is off and running.</p><p></p><p>And again, the beginning of the plot thread is all well and good, Zelia- the yuan-ti psion bad person has planted a mind seed in Arvin’s (our hero) head that will turn him into a yuan-ti in about a week, so that's nice- the ticking clock. Zelia is, of course, suitably enigmatic, mysterious, uncaring and high-level nasty.</p><p></p><p>Also, wouldn’t you know it, Arvin has some psionic skills of his own- and he’s on a journey to make sense of his new found powers, and to put them to good use, a little later he discovers the good luck stone (nine lives) he’s been wearing is actually packed full with more useful powers.</p><p></p><p>Funny that!</p><p></p><p>I liked the how to be a psion-stuff, it’s the plot that I got turned around by.</p><p></p><p>There are some bad guys, let’s call them the Pox people and they want to unleash a poison into the city water supply and in the name of Talona (Lady of Poison) make the inhabitants suffer. Only the Pox people are being manipulated/used by a bunch of other yuan-ti, and the poison is actually a potion that will turn all those that succumb to it into yuan-ti under the master’s power (Sybil, possibly). Got that?</p><p></p><p>Arvan and his best friend Naulg are captured by the Pox people and get a taste of the above potion, but Arvan survives the poison’s/potion’s effect (with a little help from Zelia) and now he must rescue his friend. But stop, the weak bit here is that Arvan is a loner, and when he says Naulg is his best friend, well… by his own admission, he doesn’t have any other real/actual friends, but at this point Zelia has already planted her mind seed in him and so he’s really got no choice.</p><p></p><p>Then… the plot, and it’s this. Arvin goes somewhere he shouldn’t, he gets attacked/triggers a trap and then gets whacked unconscious/captured and… he overhears something of import. Then he escapes. Phew close one. </p><p></p><p>Then Arvin goes somewhere else that he really shouldn’t, and then… he gets attacked/triggers a trap and then gets whacked unconscious/captured and… he overhears something else of import. </p><p></p><p>Hang-on?</p><p></p><p>The plot, of course, sorts itself out by the end- the big barrel of bad stuff that was to go into the water supply is neutralised (actually turned into a poison that will kill the Pox people) by Nicco, a cleric of Hoar, who is probably more the hero of this story than Arvan. Although, how does Nicco do this? In the scene in question the invisible priest is fighting for his life with a yuan-ti, and yet he’s still able to save the day. I don’t actually understand how the cleric saves the day but, y’know- Nicco tells us (and Arvan) what he has done so, he must have done it. Phew, that was close.</p><p></p><p>But it wasn’t close.</p><p></p><p>That’s part of the problem, our guy Arvan ends up telling some other folk what’s going on- Zelia, Nicco, the other Secessionist, Tanju et al- and the second party (not Arvan) then fix whatever is amiss, or else that’s what it seems like.</p><p></p><p>But I’ll be honest some bits of this one were a little confusing, it doesn’t help the reader (but it does Arvan) that he keeps having dreams about Zelia and her life (this a side-effect of the mind seed that she’s planted). A lot of these dreams are weird- yuan-ti & wemic sex act weird, and they just enter the narrative without intro, although they usually happen just after Arvan has got knocked unconscious/captured again.</p><p></p><p>I swear to you I have not read another novel in this setting in which the hero has had (seemingly) so little control over their journey, and so little direct influence over the plot. Point of fact towards the end the plot is more about Arvan trying to prevent himself from being turned into a yuan-ti puppet of Zelia. But even this, the final climax, is kinda daft; somehow Arvan during the course of his struggles has now developed his psionic power so that he is able to surgically remove Zelia’s ability to plant mind seeds, and in the same instance make her believe that he is dead. My problem is a lot of this is just told to us, the reader is just presented with the outcome- there’s a fight/fracas/encounter, some action- with death, destruction, spells and psionics and then… an explanation of what went on, including the solving of the problem- none of which appears in the action described.</p><p></p><p>It’s… at best, not my style. At worst, a little confusing- odd, even.</p><p></p><p>Here’s the other thing, I don’t much like Arvan and I’m not sure why I should- I prefer, in this order, the following characters- Nicco, Zelia & Tanju. Just to make clear, I would have preferred it if Zelia won and Arvan spent the rest of the trilogy as a yuan-ti, I would have looked forward to the other two novels more, as it is…</p><p></p><p>Well, read... and I'm not looking forward to the next one.</p><p></p><p>To make clear- it's well written, and there's some nice yuan-ti/Hlondeth/psionic action (all stuff I can use) but the rest of it, it just seems a bit of mix/mess, and Arvan except for telling tales, doesn't exactly solve the mystery, or shine. At times he seems surrounded by folk that could do a better job, or else they just swing in and... well, do a better job.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well.</p><p></p><p>Cheers goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8629778, member: 16069"] [B]#160 Venom's Taste by Lisa Smedman (Serpents 1) Read 3/5/22 to 9/5/22[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="193px"]156920[/ATTACH] Well, it started well enough, and there’s lots to learn for a guy like me that’s nosing his way around the Realms, Hlondeth seems to be a fun little city- home and ruled by the yuan-ti, and everyone else… the humans, well- they’re mostly slaves or else they’ve performed some other service to earn their chevrons. So, there’s a bit of threat from the get-go, and yet… it’s no darker or else nastier than the merchant streets of Selgaunt, or anywhere else really. I like the architecture of the place, and the set up/opening chapters make it clear how the city runs, and who’s in charge. A little later we visit Execution Square but by then, well the plot is off and running. And again, the beginning of the plot thread is all well and good, Zelia- the yuan-ti psion bad person has planted a mind seed in Arvin’s (our hero) head that will turn him into a yuan-ti in about a week, so that's nice- the ticking clock. Zelia is, of course, suitably enigmatic, mysterious, uncaring and high-level nasty. Also, wouldn’t you know it, Arvin has some psionic skills of his own- and he’s on a journey to make sense of his new found powers, and to put them to good use, a little later he discovers the good luck stone (nine lives) he’s been wearing is actually packed full with more useful powers. Funny that! I liked the how to be a psion-stuff, it’s the plot that I got turned around by. There are some bad guys, let’s call them the Pox people and they want to unleash a poison into the city water supply and in the name of Talona (Lady of Poison) make the inhabitants suffer. Only the Pox people are being manipulated/used by a bunch of other yuan-ti, and the poison is actually a potion that will turn all those that succumb to it into yuan-ti under the master’s power (Sybil, possibly). Got that? Arvan and his best friend Naulg are captured by the Pox people and get a taste of the above potion, but Arvan survives the poison’s/potion’s effect (with a little help from Zelia) and now he must rescue his friend. But stop, the weak bit here is that Arvan is a loner, and when he says Naulg is his best friend, well… by his own admission, he doesn’t have any other real/actual friends, but at this point Zelia has already planted her mind seed in him and so he’s really got no choice. Then… the plot, and it’s this. Arvin goes somewhere he shouldn’t, he gets attacked/triggers a trap and then gets whacked unconscious/captured and… he overhears something of import. Then he escapes. Phew close one. Then Arvin goes somewhere else that he really shouldn’t, and then… he gets attacked/triggers a trap and then gets whacked unconscious/captured and… he overhears something else of import. Hang-on? The plot, of course, sorts itself out by the end- the big barrel of bad stuff that was to go into the water supply is neutralised (actually turned into a poison that will kill the Pox people) by Nicco, a cleric of Hoar, who is probably more the hero of this story than Arvan. Although, how does Nicco do this? In the scene in question the invisible priest is fighting for his life with a yuan-ti, and yet he’s still able to save the day. I don’t actually understand how the cleric saves the day but, y’know- Nicco tells us (and Arvan) what he has done so, he must have done it. Phew, that was close. But it wasn’t close. That’s part of the problem, our guy Arvan ends up telling some other folk what’s going on- Zelia, Nicco, the other Secessionist, Tanju et al- and the second party (not Arvan) then fix whatever is amiss, or else that’s what it seems like. But I’ll be honest some bits of this one were a little confusing, it doesn’t help the reader (but it does Arvan) that he keeps having dreams about Zelia and her life (this a side-effect of the mind seed that she’s planted). A lot of these dreams are weird- yuan-ti & wemic sex act weird, and they just enter the narrative without intro, although they usually happen just after Arvan has got knocked unconscious/captured again. I swear to you I have not read another novel in this setting in which the hero has had (seemingly) so little control over their journey, and so little direct influence over the plot. Point of fact towards the end the plot is more about Arvan trying to prevent himself from being turned into a yuan-ti puppet of Zelia. But even this, the final climax, is kinda daft; somehow Arvan during the course of his struggles has now developed his psionic power so that he is able to surgically remove Zelia’s ability to plant mind seeds, and in the same instance make her believe that he is dead. My problem is a lot of this is just told to us, the reader is just presented with the outcome- there’s a fight/fracas/encounter, some action- with death, destruction, spells and psionics and then… an explanation of what went on, including the solving of the problem- none of which appears in the action described. It’s… at best, not my style. At worst, a little confusing- odd, even. Here’s the other thing, I don’t much like Arvan and I’m not sure why I should- I prefer, in this order, the following characters- Nicco, Zelia & Tanju. Just to make clear, I would have preferred it if Zelia won and Arvan spent the rest of the trilogy as a yuan-ti, I would have looked forward to the other two novels more, as it is… Well, read... and I'm not looking forward to the next one. To make clear- it's well written, and there's some nice yuan-ti/Hlondeth/psionic action (all stuff I can use) but the rest of it, it just seems a bit of mix/mess, and Arvan except for telling tales, doesn't exactly solve the mystery, or shine. At times he seems surrounded by folk that could do a better job, or else they just swing in and... well, do a better job. Stay safe and well. Cheers goonalan. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
Top