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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: 8910008" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#176 The Sapphire Crescent by Thomas M Reid (Scions of Arrabar 1) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 15/1/22 to 20/1/22</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]273298[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>First one back after a lay off- and I wanted to like it.</p><p></p><p>Wanted to.</p><p></p><p>Although for the first 100 or so pages I was as keen as mustard to get on and into it, then, well... it's hardly pacey, and it seems to delight in telling the reader things, y'know- rather than just showing them.</p><p></p><p>But, from the beginning-</p><p></p><p>Vambran, when he was a kid accidently shot and killed another fellow- the other fellow being a relative of one of the important merchant houses that run Arrabar. Note, Vambran's a member of house Matrell, they too are a merchant family of good standing in Arrabar. Anyway, Aunt Xaphira decides (heroically) to take the wrap for Vambran, she gives up her life to go on the run- getting shot in the process of escaping Arrabar. Meantime Uncle Dregaul takes every moment he can to berate Vambran- we're ruined, and you are to blame, etc.</p><p></p><p>Skip forward in time and Dregaul is the big cheese in the Matrell merchant household, and Vambran is a lieutenant in the Sapphire Crescent, a state sponsored mercenary army that protects Arrabar's trade interests, and when called upon gets up to other less than savory operations- like invading neighboring city states.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, Vambran's home and en route to the family manse when he witnesses a state sponsored (perhaps) murder. This gets his back up, and he's motivated to do something to help the unfortunate victims.</p><p></p><p>Hang on, what's Vambran been doing for the last decade or so- working as a mercenary in a state sponsored army that has no qualms about menacing its trading partners. Bit rich from the posh kid to start moralizing.</p><p></p><p>But, get it done early and the hope is the reader will forget this hiccup in the plot.</p><p></p><p>There's a great fight in a warehouse with a Leachwalker, a shambling mound only made of leaches. I was so hopeful.</p><p></p><p>But it circles, endlessly- it's slow and we get to see every side (almost) of the story so we kinda know what's going to happen to Vambran and the others on his team before it happens. Which at times seems self-defeating.</p><p></p><p>Likewise our hero, in every fight, has to be rescued by a woman in red- I wonder who that could be (Aunt X, of course), or else his two faithful sergeants show up just in time to save him. All the while Uncle D continues to rage at him. Oh, Uncle D is the bad guy- or at least one of them- but that's been on the cards since we first met him.</p><p></p><p>There's a bit at the end where it looks like Em, Vambran's sixteen year old sister is going to get raped- and there's some tension here, but only briefly because the villain talks himself out of the horror, which again seems to take the edge off things.</p><p></p><p>It's like the author is trying to replicate the merchant household in the Sembian series, but is much less accomplished, or else has just decided to drift rather than race. Even when the clock is ticking here it never seems that way.</p><p></p><p>Which makes it doubly odd that the auther, in the first hundred or so pages, tell us about the type, style and contents of all of the various planters (they contain plants) that we encounter during our ventures in Arrabar.</p><p></p><p>Vambran doesn't get much better, he's plodding, he even says something like- "If I hadn't defeated X then...", when the truth is in the fight against X he had surrendered his weapons and was 90% beaten until Aunt X and the Sgts turned up to save his backside once more. He's just a lot meh, and not even interesting with it, his new found morality seems to be all about him- the accident with the crossbow re-played.</p><p></p><p>When we meet the poor folk they are earnest, worthy and without deceit, that's nice.</p><p></p><p>Most of the posh folk and the higher ups are morally ambivalent- save that they should have/get the best of everything and screw the others.</p><p></p><p>It's a bit black and white.</p><p></p><p>That said the end is moderately interesting- Denrick Pharaboldis is written as a late teenage wannabe mustachioed tie-the-damsel-to-the-railway-track kinda guy, from the first moment we meet him. He may as well be carrying a sign that says 'villain', or better still- 'scoundrel'. But Evester, that reveal I liked, and the truth about our inciting incident. That's just (only just) enough to propel me into the next book in this series.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and I really enjoyed the Enthrall spell, that reminded me of good times gaming back in the day.</p><p></p><p>It's good to be back.</p><p></p><p>Just for info I will be reading all the books in a series (three in this one) and then will take a similar number of books off (so, three). Then onto the next series.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well you lovely people.</p><p></p><p>Cheers Paul</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8910008, member: 16069"] [B]#176 The Sapphire Crescent by Thomas M Reid (Scions of Arrabar 1) Read 15/1/22 to 20/1/22[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="187px" alt="IMG_4286.JPG"]273298[/ATTACH] First one back after a lay off- and I wanted to like it. Wanted to. Although for the first 100 or so pages I was as keen as mustard to get on and into it, then, well... it's hardly pacey, and it seems to delight in telling the reader things, y'know- rather than just showing them. But, from the beginning- Vambran, when he was a kid accidently shot and killed another fellow- the other fellow being a relative of one of the important merchant houses that run Arrabar. Note, Vambran's a member of house Matrell, they too are a merchant family of good standing in Arrabar. Anyway, Aunt Xaphira decides (heroically) to take the wrap for Vambran, she gives up her life to go on the run- getting shot in the process of escaping Arrabar. Meantime Uncle Dregaul takes every moment he can to berate Vambran- we're ruined, and you are to blame, etc. Skip forward in time and Dregaul is the big cheese in the Matrell merchant household, and Vambran is a lieutenant in the Sapphire Crescent, a state sponsored mercenary army that protects Arrabar's trade interests, and when called upon gets up to other less than savory operations- like invading neighboring city states. Anyway, Vambran's home and en route to the family manse when he witnesses a state sponsored (perhaps) murder. This gets his back up, and he's motivated to do something to help the unfortunate victims. Hang on, what's Vambran been doing for the last decade or so- working as a mercenary in a state sponsored army that has no qualms about menacing its trading partners. Bit rich from the posh kid to start moralizing. But, get it done early and the hope is the reader will forget this hiccup in the plot. There's a great fight in a warehouse with a Leachwalker, a shambling mound only made of leaches. I was so hopeful. But it circles, endlessly- it's slow and we get to see every side (almost) of the story so we kinda know what's going to happen to Vambran and the others on his team before it happens. Which at times seems self-defeating. Likewise our hero, in every fight, has to be rescued by a woman in red- I wonder who that could be (Aunt X, of course), or else his two faithful sergeants show up just in time to save him. All the while Uncle D continues to rage at him. Oh, Uncle D is the bad guy- or at least one of them- but that's been on the cards since we first met him. There's a bit at the end where it looks like Em, Vambran's sixteen year old sister is going to get raped- and there's some tension here, but only briefly because the villain talks himself out of the horror, which again seems to take the edge off things. It's like the author is trying to replicate the merchant household in the Sembian series, but is much less accomplished, or else has just decided to drift rather than race. Even when the clock is ticking here it never seems that way. Which makes it doubly odd that the auther, in the first hundred or so pages, tell us about the type, style and contents of all of the various planters (they contain plants) that we encounter during our ventures in Arrabar. Vambran doesn't get much better, he's plodding, he even says something like- "If I hadn't defeated X then...", when the truth is in the fight against X he had surrendered his weapons and was 90% beaten until Aunt X and the Sgts turned up to save his backside once more. He's just a lot meh, and not even interesting with it, his new found morality seems to be all about him- the accident with the crossbow re-played. When we meet the poor folk they are earnest, worthy and without deceit, that's nice. Most of the posh folk and the higher ups are morally ambivalent- save that they should have/get the best of everything and screw the others. It's a bit black and white. That said the end is moderately interesting- Denrick Pharaboldis is written as a late teenage wannabe mustachioed tie-the-damsel-to-the-railway-track kinda guy, from the first moment we meet him. He may as well be carrying a sign that says 'villain', or better still- 'scoundrel'. But Evester, that reveal I liked, and the truth about our inciting incident. That's just (only just) enough to propel me into the next book in this series. Oh, and I really enjoyed the Enthrall spell, that reminded me of good times gaming back in the day. It's good to be back. Just for info I will be reading all the books in a series (three in this one) and then will take a similar number of books off (so, three). Then onto the next series. Stay safe and well you lovely people. Cheers Paul [/QUOTE]
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