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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: 8917404" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#178 The Emerald Scepter by Thomas M Reid (Scions of Arrabar 3) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 23/1/23 to 27/1/23</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]273942[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Well, more of the same please... and it gets there, to the twin finales as Vam and Em battle their various insidious demons, or else the pantomime villains that stand in their stead.</p><p></p><p>But, as Chinua Achebe was fond of saying- things fall apart.</p><p></p><p>The empire of evil is crumbling, it's the nature of evil (certainly as portrayed in fantasy fiction) to be imploding as much as it is exploding. The various significant villains have all got their itches that need scratching, and so... they are as liable to F each over as they are the heroes giving chase. And that comes to pass... big style.</p><p></p><p>Villains, tsk!</p><p></p><p>Arch or otherwise they never seem to stick to the big plan, there's always someone willing to throw a spanner in the works- in this case the plague in Reth suddenly gets real, there's no cure, and now all the villainous main players are as screwed as the rest of us. It just takes one bad apple to spoil the fun of all the other (playing nicely) bad apples.</p><p></p><p>Things fall apart.</p><p></p><p>And worse still now the heroes, wherever they go have friends aplenty. Em has a new merchant house of Arrabar to play with, and also a groovy new love interest, Pilos- he's as honest as the day is long. Meantime Vambran turns out to be sex on a stick, even the sea elves can't stop pawing our guy. More to the point/plot the aforementioned aquatic folk are happy to help the cause because... it is the prophecy, Vambran will come... I mean, well- you get my drift.</p><p></p><p>So, the Emerald Scepter is recovered, and now to make the problem in Reth go away.</p><p></p><p>There's a wonky looking druid for that.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and Vambran has another love interest in Reth, you see the problem is he goes from bumbling fool trying to assuage his conscience (or chase away the bad dreams) in book one, to erudite urbane and as smooth as jazz in book three. Well, something like that- I figure I've been sold a pup.</p><p></p><p>There's lots of action, and the cliff-hangers keep on hanging. </p><p></p><p>There's lots of cool places to go and see, and likewise strange folk to talk to, and that's all good.</p><p></p><p>The issue is from about fifty or so pages in- as I'm watching the bad guys bicker and botch, while the heroes gather and grow their stock exponentially... well, the end is already in sight, for the villains.</p><p></p><p>By the end the heroes have everyone they need on their side- and right, and truth, and blah blah blah. The villains meanwhile are mostly left standing in puddles of their own pee, clutching only a handful of (very) short straws. </p><p></p><p>Save for the few that are going on to the next trilogy, at least that's what I'm thinking- some of the evil dudes get to slink away.</p><p></p><p>To recap, it's a good read- ties up all the loose ends, but... it's pretty obvious very early in that bad guys are on a losing streak, and of course the reader knows this already its just that the rush to the finale here is a series of victories for our heroes while we watch the villains hop from foot to foot and angrily gesticulate in the background.</p><p></p><p>Still good, but not great.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well you lovely people.</p><p></p><p>Cheers Paul.</p><p></p><p>And now three books for myself,</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8917404, member: 16069"] [B]#178 The Emerald Scepter by Thomas M Reid (Scions of Arrabar 3) Read 23/1/23 to 27/1/23[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="181px"]273942[/ATTACH] Well, more of the same please... and it gets there, to the twin finales as Vam and Em battle their various insidious demons, or else the pantomime villains that stand in their stead. But, as Chinua Achebe was fond of saying- things fall apart. The empire of evil is crumbling, it's the nature of evil (certainly as portrayed in fantasy fiction) to be imploding as much as it is exploding. The various significant villains have all got their itches that need scratching, and so... they are as liable to F each over as they are the heroes giving chase. And that comes to pass... big style. Villains, tsk! Arch or otherwise they never seem to stick to the big plan, there's always someone willing to throw a spanner in the works- in this case the plague in Reth suddenly gets real, there's no cure, and now all the villainous main players are as screwed as the rest of us. It just takes one bad apple to spoil the fun of all the other (playing nicely) bad apples. Things fall apart. And worse still now the heroes, wherever they go have friends aplenty. Em has a new merchant house of Arrabar to play with, and also a groovy new love interest, Pilos- he's as honest as the day is long. Meantime Vambran turns out to be sex on a stick, even the sea elves can't stop pawing our guy. More to the point/plot the aforementioned aquatic folk are happy to help the cause because... it is the prophecy, Vambran will come... I mean, well- you get my drift. So, the Emerald Scepter is recovered, and now to make the problem in Reth go away. There's a wonky looking druid for that. Oh, and Vambran has another love interest in Reth, you see the problem is he goes from bumbling fool trying to assuage his conscience (or chase away the bad dreams) in book one, to erudite urbane and as smooth as jazz in book three. Well, something like that- I figure I've been sold a pup. There's lots of action, and the cliff-hangers keep on hanging. There's lots of cool places to go and see, and likewise strange folk to talk to, and that's all good. The issue is from about fifty or so pages in- as I'm watching the bad guys bicker and botch, while the heroes gather and grow their stock exponentially... well, the end is already in sight, for the villains. By the end the heroes have everyone they need on their side- and right, and truth, and blah blah blah. The villains meanwhile are mostly left standing in puddles of their own pee, clutching only a handful of (very) short straws. Save for the few that are going on to the next trilogy, at least that's what I'm thinking- some of the evil dudes get to slink away. To recap, it's a good read- ties up all the loose ends, but... it's pretty obvious very early in that bad guys are on a losing streak, and of course the reader knows this already its just that the rush to the finale here is a series of victories for our heroes while we watch the villains hop from foot to foot and angrily gesticulate in the background. Still good, but not great. Stay safe and well you lovely people. Cheers Paul. And now three books for myself, [/QUOTE]
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