By Lisa Smedman
Book III, The Lady Penitent
-Such a controversial series. Such a controversial book. I’ll be frank, and say straight out that I found the book alright. I like just about as much of it as I dislike. Maybe the ratio is a little more tipped, in favor of liking it more than I do disliking it. But, either way, there are some major problems here. But, again, it’s not because of the most commonly cited “problem” with the book, that being Eilistraee dying. I, personally, never cared for Eilistraee (I never disliked her, either), so her death didn’t phase me too much. But, before I get to all of that, let me get to the plot and characters and such.
-Q’arlynd has one of the worst names that there can be. I am an astute student of Realmslore, but I can never get his name correct. I simply refer to him most of the time as “Q’Whatever”. That being said, I never appreciated the character. He always seemed boring to me. The character, over the course of the trilogy, has gone through so many metamorphosis’s that, by this point, I’ve stopped caring about him. Evil, good, neutral, slave, slaver, leader, follower…This is really my complaint with most of the characters in this novel. Cavatina, Qilue, everyone seemingly has random and massive mood swings.
-The plot…Well, I feel it a contrived way to eliminate the Drow Pantheon, and turn the Drow into a (mostly) monotheistic culture, rather than a polytheistic culture. It reeks of “plot armor”, the entire series, not just this book. Half of the things that happen over the course of the novel are impossible, and present large continuity gaffes. That they happen in the first place…Well, it seems to me like a start point and an end point were presented, and the author had to figure out just how the hell to get from Point A to Point B.
-My biggest problem with this novel are the continuity gaffes. It’s not the death of the Masked Lady. It’s not the death of Qilue. It’s not the death of anyone else. It’s the death of continuity. I’ll just point out a few. Drow, casting Elven High Magic? Drow, as we know, are incapable of casting Elven High Magic, stemming from their inability to achieve a total communal harmony, like Selu’Taar do. Yet, in the novel, they do. A Temple of Araushnee around 30,000 years old? She did not even know about the existence of Realmspace until well after she became Lolth, around the fall of Occidian. It was Kythrillia Amarillis (Sp?) that alerted her to Realmspace. If she had worshipers there already, she would have known about it. Thus, there could not have been a temple dedicated to Araushnee thatis 30,000 years old. By this point, she was already Lolth. Guldor Zauviir was a Wizard 20 / Archmage 2. He was killed with a simple slash of his throat. Why is it that a Level 22 caster had 0 contingencies protecting him from something like this? Those are just two problems…There’s plenty more, trust me.
Overall, out of a possible Five Beholders, I’d give this novel Two Beholders, and a Chicken.
-Q’arlynd has one of the worst names that there can be.
I agree with that.
B. but, I agree, the plot was completely contrived. Fortunately, one of the better FR writers wrote the thing. In the wrong hands, this series could have been horrible. But at least, Ms Smedman made a contrived plot palatable IMHO
-How do you even pronounce that, Q’arlynd? "Ca-Ar-Lynn-D" ?
KAR-lind mel-ARN, according to the back of the book.
Ascendancy of the Last
By Lisa Smedman
Book III, The Lady Penitent
-Such a controversial series. Such a controversial book. I’ll be frank, and say straight out that I found the book alright.
Generally speaking, I liked it also. Not as much as book II in the series, but well enough. It seemed a bit rushed, and I wasn't expecting the sudden entrance of Ghaunadaur's minions (seemed disjointed from the main plot). I liked Q'arlynd much better in books I and II, but he was rather mercurial and never seemed to shine as a character with consistent traits.
Considering that all the designers knew that magic would be radically changing in 4E, the entire subplot of Q'arlynd and his apprentices regaining ancient elven high magic seemed forced, unRealmsian, and ultimately unnecessary. I think the series as a whole suffered from plot requirements forced on the author, and she definitely did the best she could under the circumstances. I've always liked Smedman's work - and book II in this series really outshines book III for twists and turns. That book really accomplished the "dance" that is Eilistraee.
-Yes, but practice and actuality are often two different things. In other words, how do YOU pronounce it.
Pretty much how the book says to, though with a very slight hesitation where the apostrophe is, for me.
, holy crap those are bad names ! I cringe when I think of them 
....Sos'Umptu and Uthegental...
-Those two are easy to pronounce, though. 'Sus-Ump-Tu' and 'Uth-Gen-Tal'.
-I think it's the 'Q' that does it. Makes it stand out, but a hell of a lot harder to actually say.
Contrived, ignoring both lore and previously laid down history and lacking plausible believability.
Again I will say it: they killed the Eilistraee off because they wanted Drizzt to be 'more' special?
More special then what? The PC's that will never be in his books? Last I checked the main character of the is Drizzt books is....Drizzt. Drizzt isnt sharing top billing with drow PC #2 from Bobs game.
Take note also folks: Eilistraee is very popular. Why? Because they made it a special point to kill her specifically -last- and in (un)dramatic fashion. It reminded me of a public execution (Let that be a lesson to you!). Making a point to all those that liked her "NOW, she's DEAD. Move on and get over it!"
The series was, in short a:
Misscarriage of crappiness.
Elven High Magic ... well, IMHO when we speak of Elven High Magic and the drow having no access to it, we "should" refer to post-Descent times. Dark elves were capable of casting EHM stuff and those drow who do it actually use Ilythiiri scrolls casting epic magic of a special sort. There might be more than one way of casting EHM (which essentially is one form of Epic Magic) and the Last Mythal series provided Lisa with a source for that. These Ilythiiri spells were not powered by everyone liking one another or ring-casting (i.e. like what people think of post-Descent EHM), but souls burned along the way. Hence, while they thought they did cast EHM, they actually cast one version of Epic Magic used by the Ilythiiri pre-Descent. It was a new experience to them, of course. (I refrain from commenting on the fact that neither of these guys are of high enough a level to cast epic magic (soul-driven or not), nor that "Q" was "able" to cast the miracle at the end of LP III ... but that is another matter.) Thus, we may need to think of EHM in a broader, Epic Magic sense.
The drow were essentially monotheistic all along. Most cities and places worshipped Lolth and those handful of folk who meddled about with other deities can easily be disregarded. A few other cities or places had their own deities too, but were as a whole also monotheistic to those deities, be it Llurth Dreier or the Promenade or V'elddrinnsshar or those places in the Forest of Mir. Only two places were/are known for having more than one clergy about, i.e. war-torn Eryndlyn and Sshamath. They are the exceptions to the rule. The changes after the LP series will IMHO remove these exceptions as well as those other monotheistic sites from the roster, leaving behind a monotheistic faith for most if not all drow. While I am at it ... the last thing is what bothers me most and I actually said it all along (and loud enough) ever since the first book was out: WHAT about the survivors? I simply do not expect Jezz joining in with the Eilistraeens, so which faith will his kin and House turn to for divine guidance? Or those drow dragons of Ched Nasad and Chaulssin? What about those worshippers of Kiaransalee who were no divine casters? Or those who were no drow (i.e. half-drow, outsiders, undead) and thus unaffected by the faezress-driven spell? It was and is, with regard to the Revenancer, still unfeasible why the former clergy (which also included necromancers) could not simply pick up a religious book of her faith or read some inscriptions and all and find here name in there? Or some planescaping Banshee Knights - who mysteriously vanished from the Acropolis (where their chapter house was said to be), not to mention Larynda Telenna, leader of the faith on Faerûn) - returning and simply getting it started all over again? Does a faith actually need one name of a goddess to pray to her? There are umpteen deities about who have no real name and still have worshippers, e.g. now the Raven Queen.
What about the Vhaeraunite Masked Traitors who suddenly cast moonfire-underlaid Lolthite spells? Many open ends here ...
As I have done in my own revision of the book, I aplaud Lisa for the flesh she put on the bones of the Promenade. You'll hardly ever find a better description of this place ... though after 1378 DR, it will look a bit different.
I was almightily disappointed with the clearing of the roster. They either all die or become "brown elves", no decent hooks for e.g. Eilistraeens who remain drow. Non-evil drow in Lolthite cities who suddenly turn "brown"?
Trust me theres worst names, like in Siege of Darkness Sos'Umptu and Uthegental
Uthegentel Armgo is an acceptable name that belongs to a great(er) warrior (than Drizzt is). :P
Or those drow dragons of Ched Nasad and Chaulssin?
Well, I always regarded the idea that the Jaezred Chaulssin are in some manner or another servants of Vhaeraun as crap. They are powerful and proud enough not to be dependent on some weak, minor deity.
Honestly I did not read that series...got the jest of it.
I read the War of the Spider Queen...first few books were good...and then went down from there. That kinda got me disinterested in reading novels for a while.
One beholder at most.
So it kind of re-affirmed my view of them a little. Of course the other parts of the series sort of dashed my view as well, with Wendoni and the High Magic curse.
I can't understand a book that reverts half the elven history and makes the drow Ssri'Tel'Quessir back.EHM and brown skin and Eili dead. It's too much. Q'arlynd is not so bad.
One beholder at most.
-It doesn't revert half of Elven history. And, Dark Elves were always dusky-skinned.
Uthegentel Armgo is an acceptable name that belongs to a great(er) warrior (than Drizzt is). :P
Well, I always regarded the idea that the Jaezred Chaulssin are in some manner or another servants of Vhaeraun as crap. They are powerful and proud enough not to be dependent on some weak, minor deity.
Doesn't change the fact that it's one of the worst names ever ! Might as well be Uthegenital
. Ryld Argith is a good name, Flinderspeld is a good Gnome name, Sos'Umptu sounds like a bowel movement. Why people defend "poopy" names is beyond me 
.. Theres nothing wrong with Q'arlynd, if you acknowledge it as Karlynd, say it with me "KAR-lind", 
. It ever looks cooler with a "K" anyway.Doesn't change the fact that it's one of the worst names ever ! Might as well be Uthegenital
Well, it's not necessarily the name that's the crucial factor, but the guy behind it. If Drizzt was called Uthegentel I wouldn't like the name, and vice versa. Ryld is not really good a name, but I like the guy, so I like Ryld. :P
However, the name Q'arlynd is pure crap, as is Flinderspeld and also the names of the other dabblers in the LP books. (e.g. T'lar)
While we are at it, the names of the books are pretty normal, by drow standards. I have had more of an issue with those in the latter Core of FR lorebooks on the drow, like Drow of the Underdark and Underdark *. I wonder whether any of the designers actually tried to speak those names aloud (and with an English pronunciation), for it would most likely ended up in some sort of jaw-cramp. Which is a bit annoying if you consider the 200odd drow names of earlier books, who certainly had more FR (elven) flair to them.
*"I am matron Jesthflett Trun'zoyl'zl of House Trun'zoyl'zl, ruler of the segment Trun'zoyl'zl of the city of Undrek-Thoz."
*"I am matron Jesthflett Trun'zoyl'zl of House Trun'zoyl'zl, ruler of the segment Trun'zoyl'zl of the city of Undrek-Thoz."
-Here we go:
Jes-The-Flet Trun-Zoil-Zill
-Trun'zoyl'zl interestingly enough flows much better than Jesthflett.
Regarding the names ... I hope you are aware that the way you slant them is close to slanting the author and that is a closing-the-thread offense on here.
Eh, for my part, I didn't mean any harm.
Eh, for my part, I didn't mean any harm.
You were not adressed.
LK ... it was not about the way it might be pronounced, but trying to actually speak it aloud to the players without you and the former descending into hysterics ...
You were not adressed.
OK.
LK ... it was not about the way it might be pronounced, but trying to actually speak it aloud to the players without you and the former descending into hysterics ...
-I hailed my sister to the computer, and spoke the name. Nothing. A stare.
You were not adressed.
OK.
--------
As for the name thing, any time you find an apostrophe in it, then the apostrophe is substituted with a vowel of some sort--generally pertaining to the rules of the constantan preceding.
Karlind.
Debate on. Yo! :D
-A translation thing.
As for the name thing, any time you find an apostrophe in it, then the apostrophe is substituted with a vowel of some sort--generally pertaining to the rules of the constantan preceding.
-Hebrew does the same. Traditionally, the language has no vowels, but a character to denote a vowel sound in between consonants. For, for example, 'Kosher' would be spelled 'K-Sh-R'. Well, technically, it'd be 'R-SH-K', but you get it.
-A translation thing.
I would hope so. That was definitely harsh and ill addressed otherwise.
-Hebrew does the same. Traditionally, the language has no vowels, but a character to denote a vowel sound in between consonants. For, for example, 'Kosher' would be spelled 'K-Sh-R'. Well, technically, it'd be 'R-SH-K', but you get it.
And, yet, we get Q' Whatever?
And, yet, we get Q' Whatever?
-I can't say that I speak Drow. I can say I speak Hebrew. I'd be embellishing a whole lot, because I only know the bare minimum, but something is more than nothing.
-I hailed my sister to the computer, and spoke the name. Nothing. A stare.
Aha. That was the first one of your field study then? I tested it with my whole group and they were not only in hysterics about the name (which they tried to read too), but also my attempts of getting it out. And rest assured, I am quite eloquent a speaker too. But I was not trying to get you into something, I was asking all to try and speak that name (and others) a few times and in front of some other people, preferrably gamers. For if they are not the latter, you can also try a more difficult Greek or Roman or Hebrew name and there would not be a difference. These fantasy names are artificially constructed and thus you would expect one - from as eloquent a race as the elves or drow - to have some flair and roll easily of the tongue. It is not troll-giantish or orc or kuo-toan.
I have to admit, I like the name Sos'Umptu. I also like the picture they chose for her in the Reader's Guide to the Legend of Drizzt.
There's a picture of Sos'Umptu in there? Is there more to it, fate, class levels and all that? In my book, the "little one" is still out and about as the Keeper of the Baenre House Chapel?
Aha. That was the first one of your field study then?
-I don't know that many people. I'll try it on someone else, and see what happens.
I also like the picture they chose for her in the Reader's Guide to the Legend of Drizzt.
-You got that one?
There's a picture of Sos'Umptu in there? Is there more to it, fate, class levels and all that? In my book, the "little one" is still out and about as the Keeper of the Baenre House Chapel?
Yes, there is a picture of her, but since a lot of other pictures are reprints (at times, tweaked--Bella don DelRoy Harpell is Laeral with blonde hair!), the picture might be have been used before. That said, I think it looks great!
There are no stats, but there is a short description of her--it says that she's the Keeper of the Baenre Chapel and is busy building a spider golem guardian (or something to that effect) for it. Since the book is specifically about the Legend of Drizzt series, it doesn't go past the year 1370 DR, but I see no reason why "the little one" wouldn't still be alive, as the text on her mentions that she specifically tries to avoid conflict.
Since you're an avid drow fan, this book might be worth a purchase for you. You may want to check it out.
-You got that one?
Yes, and what's funny is that I'm finding it to be a good read, and worth the purchase.
I'm finding it stokes my sense of nostaglia (there's no "Spellplague this, Spellplague that" thanks to the fact that it covers an old series). If you want, I can show it to you next time we meet.Yes, and what's funny is that I'm finding it to be a good read, and worth the purchase.
-Sure. Traveling down 5th Avenue on horseback, I can woo you reciting Dwarven poetry.
-Sure. Traveling down 5th Avenue on horseback, I can woo you reciting Dwarven poetry.
Sounds like a plan.:P