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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9077158" data-attributes="member: 16069">#196 Realms of War Ed Philip Athans (Twilight War 3) Read 20/7/23 to 25/7/23[ATTACH=full]290964[/ATTACH]Well, it's alright- these anthologies are really a very mixed bunch of tales, and this one just seemed to divert me from my Shadow War trajectory, it didn't help that the first story, Continuum, by Paul S Kemp- author of the rest of the trilogy, sort of lessened my fear (and respect) for Prince Rivalen, the big bad in the series (or else one of the big bads). Prior to reading this one, in my head, Rivalen was... pretty much invulnerable, Continuum put him on the back foot- he can make mistakes, he can be defeated?And so the stories are-Contiuum by Paul S Kemp- see above, Rivalen makes mistakes.Weasel's Run by Lisa Smedman- Weasel, a Spriggan scout for a Halfling mob is captured by worshippers of Malar, the Beast Lord, and then released and hunted by the same. It's probably the best story in the anthology.The Last Paladin of Ilmater by Susan J Morris- Maze (an assassin) is lead to her target by Jaeriko (a druid), who isn't cut out to be an assassin's aide. Then we get to the General of Arrabar versus the General of Reth, and... the story kinda gets away from me. It's alright but in the end I don't care for either general, and care even less about the outcome.Black Arrow by Bruce Cordell- Jotharam, noble by birth, gets a comfy job in the war- he however has other ideas, he wants to play the hero- and so it goes... His final act to light the beacon which illuminates the battlefield, and reveals to the besieged defenders of the city where the goblin army is strongest. He saves the day, but... again, it just seems a bit peremptory at the end.Too Many Princes by Ed Greenwood- I like Mirt, I like Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms, I like less his stories of the realm. Less and less. It isn't terrible, it's just... okay. The set up is there are too many princes with a claim to the throne of Amn. Mirt has to figure out how to get himself and his men out of the fight for the throne, or else on the right side at the end. There's an evil vizier (ain't there always) and women are treated like adornments (a bit, as usual). The Siege of Zerith Hold by Jess Lebow- another siege, the goblins are really pulling out the stops, this one it's Lord Purdun to the rescue, and it's a great fight- but that's pretty much all it is. Then, in the end- the last dash for the big bad guy and... the Deux Ex Machina arrives to save the day.Mercy's Reward by Mark Sehestedt- Gethred is captured by... a very big and nasty man. He's a Cormyrean spy, spying on the Tuigan Horde. Then the Tuigan turn up and help with his rescue- they all day, of course, Then the wolf that Gethred saved (a while back) turns out to be one of the lycanthrope elves, and then pretty much everyone bad dies. It's a well written short story, and the action is very cool in places.Redemption by Elaine Cunningham- I still don't get the Elaine Cunningham thing, although... that's not true, entirely. She's in the top five (of what I have read so far here) writers, but I generally don't get very excited by her stories. So, Craulnober and Princess Arilyn are back, and... the bad boy criminal mastermind, latterly gone back to his roots- anti-hero of the people, has to be employed to do something dastardly, because elves don't like to get their hands dirty, and... he does it.Changing Tides by Mel Odom- Loved it, although... have I read this one before, in one of the other anthologies? More sea devil action, and some nice insight into how to plunder a shipwreck on the bottom of the Inner Sea, get some Sea Elves to help. The sharks and sea devils and bad stuff- the wall is breached, the soggy's are coming! A Soggy is the PCs name for a  Sahuagin, in my game, they've had some trouble with the terrifying aquatic bastards. Chase the Dark by Jaleigh Johnson- the memories (memoirs) of Devlen Torthhill- charlatan, trickster and blasphemer, employed to set false trails to lead the enemy astray, only his commander has just cheated Dev, and sent him on a genuine mission. He is the guy the enemy should be chasing, get out of that. The big problem is the reader pretty much works it all out in the first couple of pages. This reader did, at least, and so the big reveal- not so much. Dev's companions- I don't get it, double deceit- a priest of Cyric in the mix. It's alright.Bones and Stones by RA Salvatore- he simply isn't capable of writing a bad story, and who could possibly resist Thibbledorf Pwent of the Gutbusters. It's... the noble savage, from both sides, and as far as it goes it's great. It's well written, the characters are all likeable and the end is nailed on, and makes you smile. That's all you need do, make everyone happy, put your pen down.Second Chance by Richard Lee Byers- Odd, at least that was my initial reaction. Odd, most times isn't a bad thing- quite the opposite a lot of the time, but... it comes after Black Arrow, and- it's pretty much the same story. So, it suffers, not because it's better (or worse) than the Black Arrow, it's just... this again. Read.Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers goonalan.</blockquote>

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