Book II, The Abolethic Sovereignty Trilogy
By Bruce Cordell
-After reading the first book in the series, Plague of Spells, I didn’t know what to make of the trilogy. There were some parts I liked in that book, but I still had a bad taste in my mouth. Did I want to get the next book, City of Torment? Or, was I just better off leaving it at that? Wizards of the Coast “forced” my hand, when I received a free copy of the book from them, having requested it after being informed that signed copies of The Ghost King had run out, with me having won a copy from their The Ghost King Contest. With no other Forgotten Realms novels WotC was going to ship of any interest to me, I decided to continue this trilogy, free of charge.
-Having finished the novel, I am happy that I did not go out and pay $7.99 for it. I’ve read worse books, but, for the same amount of money, I could have gotten lunch from Chipotle, which would have left me with a much more satisfying feeling. Having read Bruce Cordell’s other novels, along with the Abolethic Sovereignty books that have already been published- and this might sound harsh- but I think Bruce is better off sticking with the stand alone, one-shot novels, rather than an entire series.
-As I’ve mentioned in the past, Bruce has an uncanny ability to create characters that, on the surface, pique my interest and seem interesting. Whether it be Merrik and Gungarri from the early days, or the more contemporary Raidon Kane and Kiril Duskmourn, there’s something about most that makes me want to learn more about them. They way Bruce’s novels have worked, there were only a few characters we’ve gotten to know better, with the “sidekicks” of past novels getting time to shine as protagonists as later novels. By and large, there hasn’t been all that much characterization and depth in stand alone novels, by virtue of having to introduce characters, plots, places, and adequately conclude all of the above.
-In City of Torment, Bruce has now had two books to give personality to his characters. In this matter, I am going to have to say that he’s failed, in some cases, worse than others. Let’s take The Lord of Bats, the enigmatic Archfey introduced in the first novel in the series. I liked the character when I first “met” him. Subsequent happenings in the book, coupled with how he was portrayed, have soured me to the character. I went from seeing him as a mysterious extraplanar creature to picturing him in my mind’s eye as looking like the Count, from Sesame Street. No joke. The characterization and personification that was injected in that character totally ruined it for me. Other characters, we get more of the same. Jasepth the warlock, he’s still, more or less, the typical “loner with dark, mysterious secrets and problems of his own in love with the pretty girl” archetype. Raidon Kane, we’ve known him for three books now, and his personality seems to be all over the place- and we’re none too much the wiser about what drives him (asides for his daughter), or other intimate details of his life. Mix in the generic “magician running from a past in which she was evil, but now she’s less so”, “mysterious antagonist who is more than meets the eye, who seems to command unmatched power, such that no one can/will beat her”, and “a shifty pirate who seems to be going along with everyone, but has a secret and agenda of his own”, and you’ve got yourself a cast!
-One of the things that bugged me- not to the point that it ruined my reading experience, but it was something that floated in the back of my mind- was the use of “4e keywords” all throughout the novel, as opposed to the “proper Forgotten Realms terms”. That is to say, Eladrin- that is, what we know as Sun/Moon/Star Elves- are called ‘Eladrin’. What we’ve always called the Material Plane, characters call ‘The World’. Undercommon has become ‘Deep Speech’. While the D&D rule set has changed, the Forgotten Realms is an independent entity, not necessarily beholden to what the rules dictate. While, as per the rules, ‘Undercommon’ is now ‘Deep Speech’, we’re not told of any changes in the Forgotten Realms, as to why the language that was referred to as ‘Undercommon’ is now “Deep Speech’. We are not told of any changes in the Forgotten Realms as to why ‘The Material Plane’, as it has always been known as, is now referred to as ‘The World’. The Elemental Chaos was also referenced, but since the Forgotten Realms has an explanation as to why A =/= B anymore, I don’t see any problems with this. The point of this specific schpiel is to highlight something that I asked Bruce Cordell specifically in action. While he responded that the Forgotten Realms would not “lose their identity” as novels (and/or sourcebooks) toed the 4e line, we have absolutely no mentions of Sun/Moon/Star Elves- these kinds of ‘Eladrin’ were specifically invoked in the book.
-And, now, just as few random points…Both ‘Rose Keep’, and ‘Star Pacts’ were featured in this novel. Given when those articles came out, and all of that, its kind of funny, a little. Referencing those materials, I can get a sense of when this book was actually written, as opposed to when it was released. The biggest thing, I think, is that I don’t know where Bruce is going with all of the Aboleth and whatnot. There’s a lot of Far Realms eccentricities going on, there’s a lot of slime appearing, and there’s Aboleth. It’s like I can see him (and other designers) trying to marry the three, but not fully getting there. The Far Realms still =/= slimes (Ghaunadaur) =/= Aboleth. It makes me wonder, in the end, where all three concepts are going to be going, and how everything is going to manage to be merged (if at all) in the end. And, the ending was very anticlimactic. Given that it’s in the FRCG, we all know that Xxiphu is going to survive and all, but given the threat that the protagonists faced, and how the conflict was ultimately resolved…It’s akin to hopping aboard a roller coaster billed as the fastest/highest/funnest/whatever (I don’t like roller coasters), having it start up, and then turning out to be more like a Himalaya ride.
-So, all in all, out of a possible Five Beholders, I give City of Torment Two Beholders.
I have yet to read this one, but I'll have it soon enough. I'm not expecting to be blown away, though. I've learned from experience not to place my hopes too high when it comes to Bruce's novels. I'll still probably read The Ghost King or Fall of Highwatch before this one, though. TGK wraps up that particular trilogy, and Fall of Highwatch seems to have a pretty intriguing plot (and is written by the awesome Mark Sehestedt, whom I consider to be the best writer of the three).
okay
looking ofr fall of hiwatch anyway
It does call Eladrin...well Eladrin in it.
I want to learn more about the Vil Andreth(sp).
On topic, I got books one and 2, probably will get book 3 for completeness sake. I will eventually read them. It's just I got a whole bunch of other books to read right now.
Beholder is behold with this: in front and back. : behold :
Chosen of Nendawen: Fall of Highwatch. The first in a series by Mark S. the guy who wrote Frostfell and Sentinalspire.ShowIt is set in Narfel, Feywild. Nendawen is an Exarch of Silvanus. Eladrin, called Eladrin. Kunin Gatar is like a Queen of Frost Archfey Eladrin.
Sorry about getting your topic, off topic.
On topic, I got books one and 2, probably will get book 3 for completeness sake. I will eventually read them. It's just I got a whole bunch of other books to read right now.
Beholder is behold with this: in front and back. : behold :
-Oh, good. The Beholder is there. I didn't see it on the smiley button, so...You'd know about those smilies, though.
-I was thinking about doing the same thing, but when/if you read this one, you'll see that the main threat of Plague of Spells, and, obviously, this book, was actually dealt with, seemingly to the point of completion. I have a feeling that the third book ("The Key of Stars", I believe) is going to be a bit like the ending of Return of the King- the primary conflict has already been wrapped up, but there's a few more loose ends to tend to, and I need to fill in X amount of space to make my publishers happy.
Chosen of Nendawen: Fall of Highwatch. The first in a series by Mark S. the guy who wrote Frostfell and Sentinalspire.ShowIt is set in Narfel, Feywild. Nendawen is an Exarch of Silvanus. Eladrin, called Eladrin. Kunin Gatar is like a Queen of Frost Archfey Eladrin.