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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: 9148153" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p><strong>#202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2) </strong></p><p><strong>Read 24/9/23 to 1/10/23</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]297642[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>It's an odd book, or else my head wasn't in the game when I started reading it. There was a good while at the start when I really wasn't sure what was going on- but I've learnt to just hang-on in there, often reality takes shape a bit further in, and so it proved with this one. Part of the problem is the set-up is very much the weakest link- two fathers and two sons (one for each father), then betrayal and... well, a mess. One of the dad's chooses to betray the other and throw in his lot (and his son's lot) with the Shadow Thieves. Well, that's nice- who are they? And that's my point- who are the Shadow Thieves, should I quake with fear, or... Later on the Shadow Thieves are elevated to the big bad guys for the climax, and I'm still none the wiser. The Shadow Thieves are bad people- sure, got that, but I've not seen one in action, so I've only your word (Jaleigh Johnson) on that, and there's not a lot more chatter about them, so... they ain't all that.</p><p></p><p>My point is this- the bad guys are a little too mysterious, or else not given enough exposure at the start, for all I know they're just another bunch of rogues and ruffians, pretty run-of-the-mill in fact. Thank heavens there's also a titanic (Predator-like) fire demon on the loose in the Howling Delve for the climax, and when this foul beast turns up- well, may I present to you the terrifying big bad guy, this fellow has the skills to pay the bills.</p><p></p><p>So, it's a little confusing, and more so when we abandon the father's and son's for good chunks of the novel, because we're also slumming in the Howling Delve with Meisha, who is the real hero of this story. The Howling Delve itself is a remnant of an ancient dwarven empire, a place set aside/abandoned to bad magic and worse- the dwarves here sold their souls to Abbathor, the dwarven god of greed, they forsook Dumathoin (the Secret Under The Mountain), and that's the real story here- how we get to the end of this particular badness.</p><p></p><p>Which leaves me with questions with regard to the start of this one, the fathers and sons thing just seems like an awkward way into the story proper. It's not terrible as it is just, odd- however, the rest of it is gravy. The Howling Delve, even when it was settled, is a creepy and strange place- somewhere I'd send my PCs, definitely. When we re-visit the Delve for the climax- well, it's a horrible place- and when the fire demon gets loose, superb.</p><p></p><p>Think Predator, or else Alien (mostly 3). Nice.</p><p></p><p>The rest is the story, which goes back and forth, and is put on hold anyway when the demon gets out- it's all against the demon, screw the Shadow Thieves thing, we need to survive this. But again this kinda just makes a mockery of the fathers and sons plot, when it comes to it the two sides stand together, I'm therefore less excited when the big bad demon is gone and they have to settle on an ending.</p><p></p><p>Again, it's an odd book- some of it seems to be great, specifically Meisha's story, the early Delve-days, and the rip-roaring conclusion, which includes a manifestation of Dumathoin that I am just outright stealing for my game. The rest of it... it's just structure. It's alright, but compared to the other stuff.</p><p></p><p>Sorry, short but V busy these days, the students are back in the building.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well.</p><p></p><p>Cheers Paul</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 9148153, member: 16069"] [B]#202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2) Read 24/9/23 to 1/10/23[/B] [ATTACH type="full" width="185px" alt="IMG_4339.JPG"]297642[/ATTACH] It's an odd book, or else my head wasn't in the game when I started reading it. There was a good while at the start when I really wasn't sure what was going on- but I've learnt to just hang-on in there, often reality takes shape a bit further in, and so it proved with this one. Part of the problem is the set-up is very much the weakest link- two fathers and two sons (one for each father), then betrayal and... well, a mess. One of the dad's chooses to betray the other and throw in his lot (and his son's lot) with the Shadow Thieves. Well, that's nice- who are they? And that's my point- who are the Shadow Thieves, should I quake with fear, or... Later on the Shadow Thieves are elevated to the big bad guys for the climax, and I'm still none the wiser. The Shadow Thieves are bad people- sure, got that, but I've not seen one in action, so I've only your word (Jaleigh Johnson) on that, and there's not a lot more chatter about them, so... they ain't all that. My point is this- the bad guys are a little too mysterious, or else not given enough exposure at the start, for all I know they're just another bunch of rogues and ruffians, pretty run-of-the-mill in fact. Thank heavens there's also a titanic (Predator-like) fire demon on the loose in the Howling Delve for the climax, and when this foul beast turns up- well, may I present to you the terrifying big bad guy, this fellow has the skills to pay the bills. So, it's a little confusing, and more so when we abandon the father's and son's for good chunks of the novel, because we're also slumming in the Howling Delve with Meisha, who is the real hero of this story. The Howling Delve itself is a remnant of an ancient dwarven empire, a place set aside/abandoned to bad magic and worse- the dwarves here sold their souls to Abbathor, the dwarven god of greed, they forsook Dumathoin (the Secret Under The Mountain), and that's the real story here- how we get to the end of this particular badness. Which leaves me with questions with regard to the start of this one, the fathers and sons thing just seems like an awkward way into the story proper. It's not terrible as it is just, odd- however, the rest of it is gravy. The Howling Delve, even when it was settled, is a creepy and strange place- somewhere I'd send my PCs, definitely. When we re-visit the Delve for the climax- well, it's a horrible place- and when the fire demon gets loose, superb. Think Predator, or else Alien (mostly 3). Nice. The rest is the story, which goes back and forth, and is put on hold anyway when the demon gets out- it's all against the demon, screw the Shadow Thieves thing, we need to survive this. But again this kinda just makes a mockery of the fathers and sons plot, when it comes to it the two sides stand together, I'm therefore less excited when the big bad demon is gone and they have to settle on an ending. Again, it's an odd book- some of it seems to be great, specifically Meisha's story, the early Delve-days, and the rip-roaring conclusion, which includes a manifestation of Dumathoin that I am just outright stealing for my game. The rest of it... it's just structure. It's alright, but compared to the other stuff. Sorry, short but V busy these days, the students are back in the building. Stay safe and well. Cheers Paul [/QUOTE]
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I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)
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