Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 lord_karsus Sep 03, 2008 20:52:13	The Shield of Weeping Ghosts By James P. Davis Book III of The Citadels -Being interested in Rasheman, and having no other Forgotten Realms novels on hand to read, I went out on a limb, and picked up The Shield of Weeping Ghosts. I had been avoiding the novels in The Citadels series, not liking the material that the covers were made of, and the assumption that the novels weren’t that great in general, citing a bunch of other recent stand-alone novels that I just did not like. -I’ll admit, I was pleasantly surprised. The novel, as a whole, was a lot better than I was expecting it do be. The plotline was pretty good. The characters were pretty good as well. The main fault of the novel, I think, wasn’t even related to plot, or characters, or anything, as I’ll explain later. -The plotline, at first, I felt dragged at first. A lot was left as a mystery until some of the later parts of the novel, so it was hard to feel a rapport with specific characters. The main character, Bastun, for instance, his past was left purposely hazy for a great deal of the novel, and purposefully so, so sometimes it felt hard liking him, or understanding his motivations, and so on. And, same thing with some of the supporting case, such as Duras, or the Ethran, Thaena. -The biggest problem I had with the novel, as a whole, was the…”horror” elements that it had. Too much. Every time someone turns around, it seems that the shadows are “talking to them”, apparitions are “walking around”, the shadows are “swallowing” someone, the ghosts of the city “eavesdropping”, and things like this. I understand that, in the city, there was a great tragedy, and a deadly war, and there’s plenty of restless spirits, but…Sometimes, trying too hard is counterproductive, and I think that, in this case, this is certainly true. -The ending of the book was a bit anticlimactic, I also believe. Not necessarily the ending, but the climax in the ordeal in Shaundaular. I had a little trouble understanding just what exactly the ‘Word’, the ‘Breath’ were, their relationship, and how they played into the climax of the novel. I definitely had a nonchalant, “Okay, that’s nice” feeling upon reading that the problems in Shaundaular had been solved. -Overall, out of Five Beholders, I give this novel Three Beholders.
#2 merrikcale Sep 03, 2008 21:15:23	Generally, I agree with your review and your problems. I thought most of the characters were one dimensional. I would have given it 2 beholders
#3 lord_karsus Sep 03, 2008 21:21:42	-I was thinking of giving it two Beholders, and a Chicken, but I think that it was my inherent like for Rasheman, and Ilythiir that gave me give it that extra half to get it to an even three Beholders.
#4 keveras Sep 04, 2008 4:23:43	GHotR features the name Derevan Crell. Imho the author should have taken another name, not Serevan. Anyway, I can mostly agree with you here. Especially the ethran was unappealing in her very person. As for the 'horror elements'. Actually I just quickly scaned thru those pages, looking for words like 'Ilythiir' or 'Narfell' :D
#5 Khaelieth Sep 04, 2008 6:40:55	Ehm, isn't it Rashemen?
#6 keveras Sep 04, 2008 8:49:46	Ehm, isn't it Rashemen? Jep. And it's wychlaran, not wychlaren as the book says. Another thing I didn't like :D
#7 lord_karsus Sep 04, 2008 11:00:38	As for the 'horror elements'. Actually I just quickly scaned thru those pages, looking for words like 'Ilythiir' or 'Narfell' :D -Ack, I'd never be able to do that. Only in Drizzt's soliloquies.