By Erik Scott De Bie
Book II of The Fighters
-I put off buying Ghostwalker for a long time. It was published in 2005, thereabouts, and I just recently purchased it. I picked up the novel Bloodwalk out when it first came out. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with it, the plotline or the characters. At some point, I heard that Ghostwalker contained a very similar protagonist to Quin, in Walker. I didn’t want to trudge through another novel that I was going to dislike, so I never bothered picking it up. Recently, however, I entered in into a conversation going on between Erik and some others at Candlekeep. I promised to read the novel, and held true to my word, picking it up a few hours later. I would not be disappointed. Ghostwalker was an excellent read. It took me a while to finish, but that was not because of the book itself, but rather, real world stuff.
-The best part of the novel was the characters. Mr. De Bie created various characters, most of whom were likable- which is an important quality, for me, anyway- and interesting. Walker, the protagonist, I’ll admit was a little one-dimensional. It’s nothing against the character- or the writer- but silent-but-deadly killers who wear black and talk little of their past is a little cliché. That’s not to say that I didn’t like Walker. I liked the supporting cast of characters a lot more, however.
-Arya, Bars and Derst, I liked. They reminded me a lot of the Zexen Knights, from my favorite video game series (Suikoden). Arya was a good, strong, effective woman protagonist (there’s not all that many, in thinking back). Bars and Derst, good supporting characters. At some points, the roguishness and interplay between the two sometimes seemed a little excessive or out-of-place, but it certainly made the characters seem alive.
-Meris and Greyt, I liked. A lot. Lord Greyt was a Bard, and it’s not all that often that you see Bards as main characters in novels (I can only think of a few). Not only that, but he was the villain. The villain! And, what a villain he was. An excellent, excellent character. The sequences depicting Lord Greyt using his Bardic powers- along with his natural charisma- to work and influence the crowds of Quaervarr were excellent. As the Jewish adage goes- alright, I don’t remember it word for word- the tongue is the most powerful weapon there is. That is why G-d sealed it behind teeth and lips, two layers of protection. Meris, I liked a bit less than his father. The rage, the anger, the obsession, the fury of being a bastard, of never truly being good enough for his father, all of that came through clear. The sadism that living with that psychological weight, as well. Meris seemed to be too well connected for my taste, though. It seemed that every time any character- be it Walker, Arya, or Lord Greyt believed themselves to be one step ahead, Meris wasn’t exactly one step behind, but rather, a half step behind, or a quarter step behind, or even a half step ahead.
-Gylther’yel was an interesting character. The final “twist”, at the end, I didn’t particularly like, but she was a very well made character, in my opinion. An Sun Elven Druid is pretty cool, but, let’s up the ante, and make her Ghost! I’m not being sarcastic when I am saying that it was a neat concept. I was thinking for the point she and Walker “crossed sides” so-to-speak, that she was going to turn out to be a Banshee, but…A good name, too. Can’t pronounce it too good, but a good name. A fun name.
-The setting, at first, I was a little hesitant about. I didn’t think that a story in our little frontier hamlet of Quaervarr would really be all that interesting. When, at the beginning, it seemed that it was going to be a bid-for-power from Lord Greyt, and random assassinations by Walker, while the trio of knights bumbled along, until they eventually solved the mystery. The city itself wasn’t all that interesting, but the events and people that happened and lived there- ghost Druids, Malarites, power plays- made it interesting. Like my matzoh ball soup, the broth itself wasn’t necessarily all that great, but everything else in it made it good.
-Overall, I’d give this novel, out of a possible Five Beholders, Four Beholders.
[Like my matzoh ball soup, the broth itself wasn’t necessarily all that great, but everything else in it made it good.
No, it's all good.:P
Anyway, I agree with you about this. The Lord Singer sticks in my mind to this day--a very memorable character.
the novel is underrated cause it doesn't have RSEs or a lot of realmslore
but it was fun to read
Is this book that good?
-Obviously, I thought so.
For me, a lack of RSEs is a mark in a novel's favor.
-That didn't have an impact on how I graded it, but I prefer novels without major changes to the landscape, yes.
The hero was good and also one dimensional but that was ok since of what he was and what he wanted.
Do you mean the hero was good as in morally good? If I had to guess, I'd say he was neutral, and something of an anti-hero.
-I read that as that the character was good as in enjoyable, not good as in alignment.
Yeah, I wasn't sure myself, but I'll let my main point stand.
I almost did not read this book because it was part of the Fighter Series. I liked that he was a sprit of vengance though, that hooke me. Plus the region was good just to show people that evil can lurk in the Marches towns and cities, just not Silverymoon.;)
-Don't like the other books in the series? Master of Chains, I never read, but I found both Bladesinger and Son of Thunder enjoyable.
I enjoyed Master of Chains. Can't say if you would, but it might be worth checking out.
I was VERY disappointed with the ending, however.
I was VERY disappointed with the ending, however.
-In what way?
All I recall was thinking "Well... that sucked" when I finished.
It was a good read though, that much I do remember. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I think it was because of the outcome of the main character.
-I can agree that the ending seems very abrupt, like there was more that was edited out for space/time (although, it isn't disjointed, so I don't believe anything was edited out like this. On one page, the battle is still going on, building up in intensity, then the next page, it's all over, and the epilogue is being told. In a lot of novels, there is some time to "digest" the ultimate climax, whereas here, there wasn't, and instead, a very quick and abrupt transition.
-I might, with the reserve of Forgotten Realms novels I am interested in drying up. Do you have it packed away, or maybe, can I skim it to see if I like it or not?
Damn it, I think that's one of the novels I have packed away.
Still, it won't be packed away forever--if I unpack the books and you still haven't read Master of Chains, I'd be happy to lend it to you.
One of the best villains in a long while aswell in the Greyt family.
-Agreed, in terms of the villains. You never really see evil Bards. They're a really good villain class, though. I might have to use one of my own.
I used an evil bard/nightmare spinner as the main villain in a campaign of mine. I called him the Jester king, total rip off of the Joker. He was the leader of a circus/gypsy themed crime syndicate, and he ruled through sheer terror. I really scared my pc's by making his murder tactics extremely gruesome. I borrowed a tactic from lords of darkness, and had him wrap his victims in razor wire, then cast otto's irresistable dance on them until they shredded themselves. Other than that he used a lot of Illusions and enchantments, and his basic bardic abilities to either terrify or dominate his enemies. My pc's told me after the campaign, that even though I ripped the idea off, he was their favorite villain to date.
I used an evil bard/nightmare spinner as the main villain in a campaign of mine. I called him the Jester king, total rip off of the Joker. He was the leader of a circus/gypsy themed crime syndicate, and he ruled through sheer terror. I really scared my pc's by making his murder tactics extremely gruesome. I borrowed a tactic from lords of darkness, and had him wrap his victims in razor wire, then cast otto's irresistable dance on them until they shredded themselves. Other than that he used a lot of Illusions and enchantments, and his basic bardic abilities to either terrify or dominate his enemies. My pc's told me after the campaign, that even though I ripped the idea off, he was their favorite villain to date.
That concept does sound cool (and creepy).
I used an evil bard/nightmare spinner as the main villain in a campaign of mine. I called him the Jester king, total rip off of the Joker. He was the leader of a circus/gypsy themed crime syndicate, and he ruled through sheer terror. I really scared my pc's by making his murder tactics extremely gruesome. I borrowed a tactic from lords of darkness, and had him wrap his victims in razor wire, then cast otto's irresistable dance on them until they shredded themselves. Other than that he used a lot of Illusions and enchantments, and his basic bardic abilities to either terrify or dominate his enemies. My pc's told me after the campaign, that even though I ripped the idea off, he was their favorite villain to date.
-I might have to borrow that concept. I was cataloging my NPCs, and I noticed that I had not yet any Beguiler NPCs, so...
I might have to borrow that concept.
Be my guest, after all I "borrowed" it from the Dark Knight:D I considered using the Jester prestige class from an old Dragon magazine for an added bit of flair, but decided against it. I did however use the Jester magic feat in the Waterdeep sourcebook. If you have any questions about the build or anything PM me, or I could just post it on here sometime. Btw, getting back to the original topic, I plan on picking up Ghostwalker, it sounds right up my alley.
I might have to add him to my Circus Macabre
Im intrigued. Tell me about this Circus Macabre.