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Forgotten Realms: Anthologies #4
Realms of the Underdark
The Underdark
Beneath the surface of Faerun lies a whole different world.
A world of drow, deep gnomes, and other denizens of the dark.
A world of cities like Menzoberranzan and Skullport, of warriors and rogues like Drizzt Do'Urden and Liriel Baenre and numerous others.
Leave the security of the surface world and seek out the darkness that lies below.
Welcome to the Realms of the Underdark.
Beneath the surface of Faerun lies a whole different world.
A world of drow, deep gnomes, and other denizens of the dark.
A world of cities like Menzoberranzan and Skullport, of warriors and rogues like Drizzt Do'Urden and Liriel Baenre and numerous others.
Leave the security of the surface world and seek out the darkness that lies below.
Welcome to the Realms of the Underdark.
345 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
3 people are currently reading
604 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 16, 2019
"Realms of the Underdark" is a collection of short stories set in the Forgotten Realms setting. The Underdark is an evil place deep underground populated by all manner of foul creatures from aboleth and kuo-toa to Illithids and dark dwarves, but the top of the food chain are the drow-the dark elves. Made famous by R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt epic, these stories build on that well established world.
The Preface is nothing more than a silly introduction to the anthology and I skipped it.
The first real story is "The Fires of Narbondel" and it is excellent. A tale of Zaknafien and his internal struggles as he is tasked with finding an ancient dagger before an important ritual. It even has a young Drizzt appear. Great story! 5/5
The 2nd "A Slow Day in Skullport" is not bad. A 3/5 story. A band of adventurers gets on the wrong side of a beholder's gran plans and fight it out in Skullport. Not bad. Nothing great.
The third story "Rite of Blood" is another phenomenal story. A 5/5. We are witness to Liriel Baenre's Blooding event, as she matures into Drow adulthood. A dark and twisted tale. Well done!
"Sea of Ghosts" was the 4th story. At first I did not know what to make of it. But it ended up being excellent. It goes so far as to be poignant. The derro (a debased, bat-shit crazy race of dark dwarves) Geppo ends up being a very interesting character. Very good story!
"Volo does Menzo" was terrible. Firstly, the taverner owner's name is Percival Gallard Woodehous. Yeah? Is Jeeves the Butler anywhere around? That subtle reference is the best part of the story. A terrible story. 1/5
A good collection of excellent short stories (except the last one).
The Preface is nothing more than a silly introduction to the anthology and I skipped it.
The first real story is "The Fires of Narbondel" and it is excellent. A tale of Zaknafien and his internal struggles as he is tasked with finding an ancient dagger before an important ritual. It even has a young Drizzt appear. Great story! 5/5
The 2nd "A Slow Day in Skullport" is not bad. A 3/5 story. A band of adventurers gets on the wrong side of a beholder's gran plans and fight it out in Skullport. Not bad. Nothing great.
The third story "Rite of Blood" is another phenomenal story. A 5/5. We are witness to Liriel Baenre's Blooding event, as she matures into Drow adulthood. A dark and twisted tale. Well done!
"Sea of Ghosts" was the 4th story. At first I did not know what to make of it. But it ended up being excellent. It goes so far as to be poignant. The derro (a debased, bat-shit crazy race of dark dwarves) Geppo ends up being a very interesting character. Very good story!
"Volo does Menzo" was terrible. Firstly, the taverner owner's name is Percival Gallard Woodehous. Yeah? Is Jeeves the Butler anywhere around? That subtle reference is the best part of the story. A terrible story. 1/5
A good collection of excellent short stories (except the last one).
November 4, 2024
I already discussed the meta-story of Brian Thomsen and TSR fiction publishing in the late 1990s in my review for the preceding anthology, Realms of Magic but in short: After Thomsen became head of TSR's books department, he alienated most of their authors by slashing payments and generally being an asshole. It's well-captured in Ben Riggs' Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons and since my prior review, Thomsen's wikipedia page has been updated with the juicy stuff. Among other things, this explains why there were no R.A. Salvatore TSR novels for a 5 year span after 1994 when he had 2-3 every year before and was their biggest seller. (That is, except for 1996's Passage to Dawn which he either had handed in before falling out and Thomsen sat on it until then, or he wrote afterwards to fulfill his prior contract with TSR.)
This didn't stop Thomsen (I know the book's editor is listed as J. Robert King but that's a different role than the guy actually in charge) from capitalizing on Salvatore's fame, banking on the promise of a new Salvatore Drizzt book preview to market this anthology. And hey, the anthology even includes a Drizzt story, but we'll get to that.
It bears mentioning that the previous annual anthologies each contained 11-16 stories. This one has only 5, and one of them is by Thomsen himself (in addition to the prelude and postscript, both also his.)
I want to take a moment and relay that a year ago, R.A. Salvatore did a Reddit AMA and I asked him if he could dish any dirt or vent or otherwise comment about Brian Thomsen. This was his reply:
So anyway, this book's preface, At the Publishing House, is a framing story written by Brian Thomsen in which he casts himself as "Justin Tym," editor of Tym Waterdeep Limited or TWL (a.k.a. TSR). TWL is in a precarious financial spot (just like TSR was; it basically always was, and it went fully bankrupt within 2 more years), and the segment is full of references to actual TSR books on their schedule and diligent author "Greenwood Grubb" (Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb), and it casts Volo, the famous author and star of Thomsen's own two TSR novels (hmm, I wonder if it was difficult to have those accepted for publication) as "the house's cash cow", which was Salvatore's previous position, and so with knowledge of all the real life goings-on at the time the whole thing is very cringy and uncomfortable and weird. Even without that knowledge it's a cringy and weird piece.
The first story proper, The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony, is also part of the sordid affair. This is a story featuring Drizzt and related characters set in Menzaberranzen. You know, those characters and locations created by R.A. Salvatore and comprising TSR fiction publishing's most popular and best-selling content? Thomsen already demonstrated his willingness to enforce TSR's legal ownership of those creations by using them in his own book Once Around the Realms. Here, he hands them over to Anthony to do as he sees fit. Was this legal? Absolutely. Was it also shitty? Hell, yes.
I'm reminded of a scene from the 1999 Kevin Costner film For the Love of the Game, in which amidst what could be Costner's baseball pitcher character's perfect no-hit game and cap on his career, the opposing teams sends out a young rookie player, with the speculation that with his inexperience, he wouldn't grasp the gravity of the moment and capitulate, consciously or otherwise. It's the only part of the movie I remember, and I probably only watched the things because Sam Raimi directed it.
I imagine Mark Anthony, although he had a few novels under his belt with TSR, was young and impressionable enough not to realize the severity of the creative overstep he was taking by agreeing to write Salvatore's material. And I don't know if this is significant, but Anthony never had a novel published with TSR again. After this story, he had one other short story in the following year's collection, then nothing once Wizards of the Coast took over TSR (and lured Salvatore back). Anthony did continue writing, however, publishing a six-book series with Spectra, so maybe after receiving market-rate compensation instead of what Thomsen had been paying at TSR he never looked back. Somewhere in there, though, he wrote a full Drizzt novel manuscript, titled "Shores of Dusk" that has never seen the light of day; when Wizards of the Coast bought failing TSR in 1997, they shelved it in favor of luring Salvatore back.
Was this "stolen valour" Drizzt story any good? Yes, it was pretty decent. It's been a long time since I've read Salvatore and can't speak to any notable difference in style; they're both pretty hacky writers, I'd say.
Next up: oh dear Mystra. It's an Ed Greenwood story, A Slow Day in Skullport. Let's get this over with. So, if you're unfamiliar, Greenwood's characters are all kinds of Mary Sues. In this story, three of his Mary Sues come together to Mary Sue the crap out an ancient beholder, because why the hell not. They Mary Sue multiple other minor foes on their individual ways there. Also, Halaster, the Mad Mage of Undermountain, appears here as a side Mary Sue only to be repeatedly out-Mary Sued by Mary Sue Prime, aka Elminster, who has absolutely no story reason for appearing at all. Neither of them interact with the main trio of Mary Sues or have any impact on the outcome of that particular affair, so I don't know why Greenwood bothered except that clearly he loooooooooves his characters. This applies equally well (both the love and the "why did he bother) to all of Greenwood's fiction.
The story, such as it was, and not that I expected anything from it in the first place given my history with Greenwood's novels, was marred early on by a glaring plot hole. Mary Sue 1 uses a magic message-sending ring to inform Mary Sue 2 that he's going into Undermountain to rescue MacGuffin Character. Mary Sue 2 sees MacGuffin Character outside at the same time so immediately knows it's all a ruse to lure Mary Sue 1 in. He then uses his own magic message-sending ring to contact Mary Sue 3. It is stated that all the Mary Sues (aka the secret Lords of Waterdeep) have ways to contact each other as necessary. So why the hell didn't Mary Sue 2 just call Mary Sue 1 back and say, "It's a trick, I'm staring at MacGuffin right now, don't go in," huh?
With Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham, the Forgotten Realms novel line's second most popular author, the book's course is finally righted. This is a story of Liriel Baenre's formative years, she of Daughter of the Drow and Tangled Webs, the latter published the same month as this trilogy (April 1996 for those keeping track). It's solid and provides worthwhile character development, for Liriel at least. Every other Drow in her circle remains the same conniving, evil, sneering plotters they've always been.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore is the dark horse of this anthology. This story came out of left field. I didn't know what to expect; my vague memory of his stories in prior collections (he was an editor and creative director for TSR, one of many in-house persons to contribute occasionally to their fiction line) was that they were different from the usual mold but with mixed results. He appears to be the only one who took this book's assignment seriously, providing a previously unseen but necessary point of view, that of two creatures enslaved by cruel Drow. The existence of such is mentioned often throughout Drow-focused books but the impact is examined critically here. We see a deep gnome (aka svirfneblin) and a derro, recently freed from torture and bondage by accident, broken in body and mind and out for revenge. It's a haunting story with a heavy tone of despair and emotional pain throughout, as the pair struggle with their mutual racial distrust as much as their respective trauma and also the terrors of the Underdark, seen here vastly more threatening than at any previous point. It's an amazing story and almost had me in tears at the end. What a lovely surprise.
Well, that's it for this—wait, this only makes up 260 pages even with the illustrations, and Forgotten Realms books have to be at least 300 pages. What's an editor to do? I know, throw in a story by the guy who chased out all the other authors!
Brian M. Thomsen's very own Volo does Menzo fills out the book. Wow, what a fabulous idea to add a jokey take on the Underdark, robbing it of all threat and seriousness, filling it with incompetent mooks who all talk in excessive thesaurian style, diminishing the emotion of the preceding stories and denigrating the serious work that TSR's few remaining authors put into this book. Good job, guy in charge. If it were at least filled with elaborately staged puns like his prior novel, that would have been something, but it doesn't even make that degree of effort. (One exception is that possibly a location called "Gillian's Aisle" is meant as a riff on "Gilligan's Island" but there is no context in the story to support that.)
The postscript, also by Brian Thomsen and which is required to finalize the preceding story, returns the reader to the offices of Justin Tym, editor, where the same unfunny jokes from the prelude are repeated.
To recap: this anthology contains stories from Brian Thomsen, Mark Anthony, Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, Roger E. Moore, Brian Thomsen, and Brian Thomsen, while depending primarily on the fame of R.A. Salvatore to sell the book.
The story by Anthony is fine but made difficult to enjoy due to its background. Cunningham's contribution is worthy, and Moore's is the standout of the bunch. Is that enough to recommend the book? I don't know who the readership for the non-Drizzt Forgotten Realms novels (and anthologies) would be anymore, other than people like myself doing it as a project, or for nostalgia, but if this is you AND the book is readily available to you for a few bucks at most, have at it, but I give you permission to skip all of the material by Thomsen and Greenwood.
This didn't stop Thomsen (I know the book's editor is listed as J. Robert King but that's a different role than the guy actually in charge) from capitalizing on Salvatore's fame, banking on the promise of a new Salvatore Drizzt book preview to market this anthology. And hey, the anthology even includes a Drizzt story, but we'll get to that.
It bears mentioning that the previous annual anthologies each contained 11-16 stories. This one has only 5, and one of them is by Thomsen himself (in addition to the prelude and postscript, both also his.)
I want to take a moment and relay that a year ago, R.A. Salvatore did a Reddit AMA and I asked him if he could dish any dirt or vent or otherwise comment about Brian Thomsen. This was his reply:
When you don't have anything good to say about someone, say nothing at all.Cold, man.
Nothing at all.
So anyway, this book's preface, At the Publishing House, is a framing story written by Brian Thomsen in which he casts himself as "Justin Tym," editor of Tym Waterdeep Limited or TWL (a.k.a. TSR). TWL is in a precarious financial spot (just like TSR was; it basically always was, and it went fully bankrupt within 2 more years), and the segment is full of references to actual TSR books on their schedule and diligent author "Greenwood Grubb" (Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb), and it casts Volo, the famous author and star of Thomsen's own two TSR novels (hmm, I wonder if it was difficult to have those accepted for publication) as "the house's cash cow", which was Salvatore's previous position, and so with knowledge of all the real life goings-on at the time the whole thing is very cringy and uncomfortable and weird. Even without that knowledge it's a cringy and weird piece.
The first story proper, The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony, is also part of the sordid affair. This is a story featuring Drizzt and related characters set in Menzaberranzen. You know, those characters and locations created by R.A. Salvatore and comprising TSR fiction publishing's most popular and best-selling content? Thomsen already demonstrated his willingness to enforce TSR's legal ownership of those creations by using them in his own book Once Around the Realms. Here, he hands them over to Anthony to do as he sees fit. Was this legal? Absolutely. Was it also shitty? Hell, yes.
I'm reminded of a scene from the 1999 Kevin Costner film For the Love of the Game, in which amidst what could be Costner's baseball pitcher character's perfect no-hit game and cap on his career, the opposing teams sends out a young rookie player, with the speculation that with his inexperience, he wouldn't grasp the gravity of the moment and capitulate, consciously or otherwise. It's the only part of the movie I remember, and I probably only watched the things because Sam Raimi directed it.
I imagine Mark Anthony, although he had a few novels under his belt with TSR, was young and impressionable enough not to realize the severity of the creative overstep he was taking by agreeing to write Salvatore's material. And I don't know if this is significant, but Anthony never had a novel published with TSR again. After this story, he had one other short story in the following year's collection, then nothing once Wizards of the Coast took over TSR (and lured Salvatore back). Anthony did continue writing, however, publishing a six-book series with Spectra, so maybe after receiving market-rate compensation instead of what Thomsen had been paying at TSR he never looked back. Somewhere in there, though, he wrote a full Drizzt novel manuscript, titled "Shores of Dusk" that has never seen the light of day; when Wizards of the Coast bought failing TSR in 1997, they shelved it in favor of luring Salvatore back.
Was this "stolen valour" Drizzt story any good? Yes, it was pretty decent. It's been a long time since I've read Salvatore and can't speak to any notable difference in style; they're both pretty hacky writers, I'd say.
Next up: oh dear Mystra. It's an Ed Greenwood story, A Slow Day in Skullport. Let's get this over with. So, if you're unfamiliar, Greenwood's characters are all kinds of Mary Sues. In this story, three of his Mary Sues come together to Mary Sue the crap out an ancient beholder, because why the hell not. They Mary Sue multiple other minor foes on their individual ways there. Also, Halaster, the Mad Mage of Undermountain, appears here as a side Mary Sue only to be repeatedly out-Mary Sued by Mary Sue Prime, aka Elminster, who has absolutely no story reason for appearing at all. Neither of them interact with the main trio of Mary Sues or have any impact on the outcome of that particular affair, so I don't know why Greenwood bothered except that clearly he loooooooooves his characters. This applies equally well (both the love and the "why did he bother) to all of Greenwood's fiction.
The story, such as it was, and not that I expected anything from it in the first place given my history with Greenwood's novels, was marred early on by a glaring plot hole. Mary Sue 1 uses a magic message-sending ring to inform Mary Sue 2 that he's going into Undermountain to rescue MacGuffin Character. Mary Sue 2 sees MacGuffin Character outside at the same time so immediately knows it's all a ruse to lure Mary Sue 1 in. He then uses his own magic message-sending ring to contact Mary Sue 3. It is stated that all the Mary Sues (aka the secret Lords of Waterdeep) have ways to contact each other as necessary. So why the hell didn't Mary Sue 2 just call Mary Sue 1 back and say, "It's a trick, I'm staring at MacGuffin right now, don't go in," huh?
With Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham, the Forgotten Realms novel line's second most popular author, the book's course is finally righted. This is a story of Liriel Baenre's formative years, she of Daughter of the Drow and Tangled Webs, the latter published the same month as this trilogy (April 1996 for those keeping track). It's solid and provides worthwhile character development, for Liriel at least. Every other Drow in her circle remains the same conniving, evil, sneering plotters they've always been.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore is the dark horse of this anthology. This story came out of left field. I didn't know what to expect; my vague memory of his stories in prior collections (he was an editor and creative director for TSR, one of many in-house persons to contribute occasionally to their fiction line) was that they were different from the usual mold but with mixed results. He appears to be the only one who took this book's assignment seriously, providing a previously unseen but necessary point of view, that of two creatures enslaved by cruel Drow. The existence of such is mentioned often throughout Drow-focused books but the impact is examined critically here. We see a deep gnome (aka svirfneblin) and a derro, recently freed from torture and bondage by accident, broken in body and mind and out for revenge. It's a haunting story with a heavy tone of despair and emotional pain throughout, as the pair struggle with their mutual racial distrust as much as their respective trauma and also the terrors of the Underdark, seen here vastly more threatening than at any previous point. It's an amazing story and almost had me in tears at the end. What a lovely surprise.
Well, that's it for this—wait, this only makes up 260 pages even with the illustrations, and Forgotten Realms books have to be at least 300 pages. What's an editor to do? I know, throw in a story by the guy who chased out all the other authors!
Brian M. Thomsen's very own Volo does Menzo fills out the book. Wow, what a fabulous idea to add a jokey take on the Underdark, robbing it of all threat and seriousness, filling it with incompetent mooks who all talk in excessive thesaurian style, diminishing the emotion of the preceding stories and denigrating the serious work that TSR's few remaining authors put into this book. Good job, guy in charge. If it were at least filled with elaborately staged puns like his prior novel, that would have been something, but it doesn't even make that degree of effort. (One exception is that possibly a location called "Gillian's Aisle" is meant as a riff on "Gilligan's Island" but there is no context in the story to support that.)
The postscript, also by Brian Thomsen and which is required to finalize the preceding story, returns the reader to the offices of Justin Tym, editor, where the same unfunny jokes from the prelude are repeated.
To recap: this anthology contains stories from Brian Thomsen, Mark Anthony, Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, Roger E. Moore, Brian Thomsen, and Brian Thomsen, while depending primarily on the fame of R.A. Salvatore to sell the book.
The story by Anthony is fine but made difficult to enjoy due to its background. Cunningham's contribution is worthy, and Moore's is the standout of the bunch. Is that enough to recommend the book? I don't know who the readership for the non-Drizzt Forgotten Realms novels (and anthologies) would be anymore, other than people like myself doing it as a project, or for nostalgia, but if this is you AND the book is readily available to you for a few bucks at most, have at it, but I give you permission to skip all of the material by Thomsen and Greenwood.
April 23, 2008
I always did have a thing for the dark elves. This is a worthwhile read for anyone that enjoys the drow.
February 15, 2015
he Underdark
Beneath the surface of Faerûn lies a whole different world.
A world of drow, deep gnomes, and other denizens of the dark.
A world of cities like Menzoberranzan and Skullport, of warriors and rogues like Drizzt Do'Urden and Liriel Baenre and numerous others.
Leave the security of the surface world and seek out the darkness that lies below.
Welcome to the Realms of the Underdark.
Review
The Fires of Narbondel - Mark Anthony - 75pag
A Slow Day in Skullport - Ed Greenwood - 67pag
Rite of Blood - Elaine Cunningham - 63pag
Sea of Ghosts - Roger E Moore - 51pag
Volo Does Menzo - Brian M Thomsen - 36pag
The Fires of Narbondel - Mark Anthony - The first story was the best one as well. This story follows the mythical father of Drizzt; Zaknafein Do'Urden in his quest to find a dagger to Malice, the Matron mother of Do'Urden house as to gain Lloth's favor. This author Mark Anthony portrayed exemplary the small passages of Drizzt as Zaknafein. I really hope that he had done a book on this character/house but unfortunally after 15 years I doubt it will ever be published. There is also an important thing on this story. Drizzt meets even if unware Lloth. As I said the writer really can do Drows. I have fail to met any fault on this story. I think this author should have been brought to write in sixth book series War of the Spider Queen 10/10.
A Slow Day in Skullport - Ed Greenwood. Last time I tried a story by him I didn't enjoy it. This one was no better even if it was a little more ease to follow. There are several poiny of views as they quest to the underdark to try their luck on a Beholder. I must say I didn't understant half of what was happenning. At least Elminster appeared as well as Shandril. Both of them own their own series. Another good point was the Beholder. 4/10
Rite of Blood - Elaine Cunningham - I have yet to read a full novel written by her. This story focus on the early years of Liriel Baenre which have her own story. She is the daughter of Gromph Baenre who is the archmage of Menzoberranzan. Liriel is highly gifted and her tutor, Xandra, is jeoulous of her. As Liriel goes into the trial of The Blooding that every drow must pass, she is set against a powerful human wizard of Thay. This story is quite good I learn about drows and their religion. Not only Lloth but her counterpart of Elistrae. As Liriel grows up she is turn into a drow and as the first story of Drizzt I get the feeling that the drow society work and how they end up the way the are. Twisted and Evil. I will be looking for her trilogy. 10/10.
Sea of Ghosts - Roger E Moore In this story we get to know a deep gnome Wykar and a derro called Geepo as they search a treasure. I must say I couldn't get into this story. I will not give a rating right now. I will try again later in the year.
Volo Does Menzo - Brian M Thomsen - This story is about a cook called Percival Gallard Woodehous and Volo (the one with all the sourcebooks) as they journey to Menzoberranzan. This is a story that was a funny read. The only bad thing if you can call it that it's the characterization of the two drows on this story. They are dumb as orcs in my opinion. Percival and Volo are great characters and the story is quite fun. I really hope for another Percival and Volo story. 7.5/10
In the end I would advice anyone who loves drows to read this book. I think this is a great beginning for all the books with drows out there. Drizzt, Liriel, War of the Spider Queen and Lady Peninent. Probably there are more...
Beneath the surface of Faerûn lies a whole different world.
A world of drow, deep gnomes, and other denizens of the dark.
A world of cities like Menzoberranzan and Skullport, of warriors and rogues like Drizzt Do'Urden and Liriel Baenre and numerous others.
Leave the security of the surface world and seek out the darkness that lies below.
Welcome to the Realms of the Underdark.
Review
The Fires of Narbondel - Mark Anthony - 75pag
A Slow Day in Skullport - Ed Greenwood - 67pag
Rite of Blood - Elaine Cunningham - 63pag
Sea of Ghosts - Roger E Moore - 51pag
Volo Does Menzo - Brian M Thomsen - 36pag
The Fires of Narbondel - Mark Anthony - The first story was the best one as well. This story follows the mythical father of Drizzt; Zaknafein Do'Urden in his quest to find a dagger to Malice, the Matron mother of Do'Urden house as to gain Lloth's favor. This author Mark Anthony portrayed exemplary the small passages of Drizzt as Zaknafein. I really hope that he had done a book on this character/house but unfortunally after 15 years I doubt it will ever be published. There is also an important thing on this story. Drizzt meets even if unware Lloth. As I said the writer really can do Drows. I have fail to met any fault on this story. I think this author should have been brought to write in sixth book series War of the Spider Queen 10/10.
A Slow Day in Skullport - Ed Greenwood. Last time I tried a story by him I didn't enjoy it. This one was no better even if it was a little more ease to follow. There are several poiny of views as they quest to the underdark to try their luck on a Beholder. I must say I didn't understant half of what was happenning. At least Elminster appeared as well as Shandril. Both of them own their own series. Another good point was the Beholder. 4/10
Rite of Blood - Elaine Cunningham - I have yet to read a full novel written by her. This story focus on the early years of Liriel Baenre which have her own story. She is the daughter of Gromph Baenre who is the archmage of Menzoberranzan. Liriel is highly gifted and her tutor, Xandra, is jeoulous of her. As Liriel goes into the trial of The Blooding that every drow must pass, she is set against a powerful human wizard of Thay. This story is quite good I learn about drows and their religion. Not only Lloth but her counterpart of Elistrae. As Liriel grows up she is turn into a drow and as the first story of Drizzt I get the feeling that the drow society work and how they end up the way the are. Twisted and Evil. I will be looking for her trilogy. 10/10.
Sea of Ghosts - Roger E Moore In this story we get to know a deep gnome Wykar and a derro called Geepo as they search a treasure. I must say I couldn't get into this story. I will not give a rating right now. I will try again later in the year.
Volo Does Menzo - Brian M Thomsen - This story is about a cook called Percival Gallard Woodehous and Volo (the one with all the sourcebooks) as they journey to Menzoberranzan. This is a story that was a funny read. The only bad thing if you can call it that it's the characterization of the two drows on this story. They are dumb as orcs in my opinion. Percival and Volo are great characters and the story is quite fun. I really hope for another Percival and Volo story. 7.5/10
In the end I would advice anyone who loves drows to read this book. I think this is a great beginning for all the books with drows out there. Drizzt, Liriel, War of the Spider Queen and Lady Peninent. Probably there are more...
May 16, 2010
Realms of the Underdark edited by J. Robert King was released in 1996. This anthology has five short stories by Mark Anthony, Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, Roger E. Moore, and Brian M. Thomsen. Thomsen also writes the preface and the postscript. As you can guess, the stories written in here have to do with the Underdark and those who live there.
Preface: At the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- This little introduction is about the publisher of Tym Waterdeep Limited named Justin Tym as he worries over next years submissions and how his best author, Volo, and his relationship went downhill.
*I'm not going to comment on this seeing as it just introduces the story.*
The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony- This story follows Zaknafein Do'Urden, the father of the ever famous Drizzt Do'Urden, on his quest to find a dagger for Matron Malice Do'Urden to gain Lloth's, the Spider Queen's, favor.
Negatives:
I have no problems with the story.
Positives:
1) Zaknafein. R. A. Salvatore may have created the weapon master, but Mark Anthony really brought him to life. I was really excited to read and see how Zaknafein looked being written by someone else and I was not disappointed. There was an added depth into the character and you really see how Zak is Zak.
2) Drizzt. Everyone's favorite drow. This is pretty much the same case as above. I think that Mark Anthony really nailed Salvatore's character, albeit Drizzt is only 11 years old, but pretty much mimicked how Drizzt was in Salvatore's Homeland. At the same time, there was a new "twist" on to Drizzt character. I know this is blasphemy, but after reading this story... I really would have liked to see how Mark Anthony portrayed Drizzt in his never to be published book Shores of Dusk.
3) Mark Anthony. I just can't believe how well he took the characters that Salvatore created and pretty much made it feel like it was a Salvatore story. From Zak to Malice, Drizzt to Briza, he really did a wonderful job at creating these characters.
4) Jalynfein. Now I won't give up a lot of stuff on who this is, but I just WANT to read more about this character. He is very interesting and it's a shame that he only appears on a few pages.
Overall: 5/5
*I'm just utterly blown away by this story.*
A Slow Day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood- The main story is about three people taking on a beholder to "save" a noblewoman. That's about as in-depth as I can get when trying to summarize this story.
Negatives:
1) Too much. The reason why I can't accurately summarize the story is because, well, there is just so much going on. I wasn't even sure everything that happened was really supposed to be happening. It just was a mishmash of little pointless scenes and more headache driven pacing. I still don't know what actually happened.
2) Pointless scenes. There were a bunch of useless, meaningless scenes. The story probably could have just been 20 pages if you took away all the uselessness. The scenes with Elminster and Halaster served no real purpose. I'm still clueless about why they were in here. I have no explanation at all.
3) Pacing. The scenes went by to fast to be able to make since out of anything. I wasn't even sure what was really supposed to be happening. One minute you're looking through the eyes of Asper, the next Durnan suddenly did something that we missed and then Mirt did something else that I have no idea how he did it. It just needed to slow down a little.
Positives:
1) Dramatis Personae. At least you get to see who all played a part in this mess. It is nice to see who the characters are and everything. The only thing is, why list people who didn't give anything except a line or just a very brief appearance? Still, some of the things said in here about the characters are pretty funny.
2) Main story. Now, even though I still can't decipher what was going on, the main story was pretty interesting. The whole fight with the beholder was fun and exciting. Then the missing noblewoman was an interesting twist.
3) Asper, Durnan, and Mirt. The main characters were pretty interesting as well. Asper, in my opinion, was by fair the best of the trio with her acrobatics and agility. It was fun to read about all her "crazy" moves. Durnan was interesting in that he is a tavern keeper, yet adventurer and that in his "age" he can still put up a good fight. Mirt was interesting because even though he was "bigger," he was agile and "smooth" with the women for some odd reason.
Overall: 2/5
*Too much going on to make any sense of it. My head is still trying to figure it all out. The only redeeming qualities were the character list at the end and the beholder fight.*
Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham- The story is about Liriel Baenre, the daughter of Gromph Baenre, who is the archmage of Menzoberranzan. Liriel is an up and coming mage, under the tutelage of Xandra Shobalar, the Mistress of Magic. During this time, Liriel is coming of age and is to undertake a ritual called “The Blooding” in which she would make her first kill and become a true drow. However, things don’t go as Liriel thought they would.
Negatives:
I can’t think of anything wrong about this story.
Positives:
1) Liriel. She’s a very interesting character and it’s nice to see a little more into her background than what we read in Starlight and Shadows trilogy. You can see how innocent, yet at the same time, not she is. And I liked that we get to see how bright and cunning she really is.
2) Story. The whole story was wonderful. From the start to the finish, everything was well done and it really made you want to read and finish the story.
3) Look into a drow’s mind. This really did offer a good look into how cunning and devious drow’s are. You can get a great sense of how cold and calculating they are. Also, you get a sense that not all drow’s are born evil, but become more and more twisted into being that way.
Overall: 5/5
*Great look into a drow’s mind and a great story revolving around Liriel Baenre.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore- The story revolves around a deep gnome named Wykar and a derro named Geppo in search of a treasure that they buried when enslaved by drow. Wykar is utterly determined to destroy an egg, while promising that Geppo can have the gold. Along the way, peril and danger await them, along with betrayal.
Negatives:
1) Raurogh's Hall. The scenes involving the little community of Raurogh's Hall, were quite honestly, boring. I didn't see the point to add them in there, sure it may have been more interesting if more thought and relevance to the story would have been into this part. The main thing I got out of this is they have an earthquake, a fisher women counts till she hears a splash and becomes a hero. Exciting.
2) Plains of Eastern Shaar. Once again, the same reason as above. It was almost as pointless. It was boring and at times, made no real sense to the plot. However, it does get somewhat tied in at the end, and I might be stretching it.
3) Geppo's Speech. It did not seem like he was slow, in fact the reason he talked like that was because of a metal wire their drow masters tied around his neck. But why does that make him talk so, for lack of a better term, stupid? Granted, he probably couldn't pronounce certain words, but come on...
Positives:
1) Wykar and Geppo. Both the characters were pretty thought out and very interesting. Wykar's paranoia about Geppo betraying him was well done. Throughout the story, he doesn't trust Geppo. Geppo on the other hand gets interesting towards the end, and because I don't want to give anything away, his back story was touching and sad. And it makes me think that he really is mentally challenged. Even the relationship between the characters was very interesting. Geppo seemed to wholly trust Wykar, while Wykar didn't seem to trust in Geppo at all. It made for an interesting story.
2) The End. The ending came unexpected and was very heart wrenching. It was one of those moments when I have to take a break, else I might lose it. It was that emotional and sad for me.
Overall: 4/5
*Even though I had some major problems with some scenes, the ending is what really made this story wonderful. It really made me feel some sort of sorrow for the two main characters.*
Volo Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen- The story is about a maître d'/waiter/cook named Percival Gallard Woodehous, commonly called Pig and the renowned traveling author Volo in their journey to Menzoberranzan, as prisoners.
Negatives:
1) Courun and Haukun. These were pathetic excuses for drow. It was terrible seeing how inept they are. I thought that all drow were a certain way...
Positives:
1) Percival. Every interesting character. He seemed like a maître d' and was a very well done character.
2) Volo. I haven't really read much about Volo, and it was interesting to see his personality and how complex a character he is at times. You couldn't get very much information with the short stories that featured him.
3) Humor. An amazingly funny story. Mostly because of the ineptness of the drow duo.
Overall: 4/5
*It seemed like this should have been a little shorter and it really did feel pretty fast and short.*
Postscript: Back at the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- Just pretty much wraps up the previous story and wraps up the anthology.
*Once again, not really commenting on this.*
OVERALL ANTHOLOGY: 4/5
*Good stories overall, except for the Ed Greenwood confusion laced story.*
Preface: At the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- This little introduction is about the publisher of Tym Waterdeep Limited named Justin Tym as he worries over next years submissions and how his best author, Volo, and his relationship went downhill.
*I'm not going to comment on this seeing as it just introduces the story.*
The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony- This story follows Zaknafein Do'Urden, the father of the ever famous Drizzt Do'Urden, on his quest to find a dagger for Matron Malice Do'Urden to gain Lloth's, the Spider Queen's, favor.
Negatives:
I have no problems with the story.
Positives:
1) Zaknafein. R. A. Salvatore may have created the weapon master, but Mark Anthony really brought him to life. I was really excited to read and see how Zaknafein looked being written by someone else and I was not disappointed. There was an added depth into the character and you really see how Zak is Zak.
2) Drizzt. Everyone's favorite drow. This is pretty much the same case as above. I think that Mark Anthony really nailed Salvatore's character, albeit Drizzt is only 11 years old, but pretty much mimicked how Drizzt was in Salvatore's Homeland. At the same time, there was a new "twist" on to Drizzt character. I know this is blasphemy, but after reading this story... I really would have liked to see how Mark Anthony portrayed Drizzt in his never to be published book Shores of Dusk.
3) Mark Anthony. I just can't believe how well he took the characters that Salvatore created and pretty much made it feel like it was a Salvatore story. From Zak to Malice, Drizzt to Briza, he really did a wonderful job at creating these characters.
4) Jalynfein. Now I won't give up a lot of stuff on who this is, but I just WANT to read more about this character. He is very interesting and it's a shame that he only appears on a few pages.
Overall: 5/5
*I'm just utterly blown away by this story.*
A Slow Day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood- The main story is about three people taking on a beholder to "save" a noblewoman. That's about as in-depth as I can get when trying to summarize this story.
Negatives:
1) Too much. The reason why I can't accurately summarize the story is because, well, there is just so much going on. I wasn't even sure everything that happened was really supposed to be happening. It just was a mishmash of little pointless scenes and more headache driven pacing. I still don't know what actually happened.
2) Pointless scenes. There were a bunch of useless, meaningless scenes. The story probably could have just been 20 pages if you took away all the uselessness. The scenes with Elminster and Halaster served no real purpose. I'm still clueless about why they were in here. I have no explanation at all.
3) Pacing. The scenes went by to fast to be able to make since out of anything. I wasn't even sure what was really supposed to be happening. One minute you're looking through the eyes of Asper, the next Durnan suddenly did something that we missed and then Mirt did something else that I have no idea how he did it. It just needed to slow down a little.
Positives:
1) Dramatis Personae. At least you get to see who all played a part in this mess. It is nice to see who the characters are and everything. The only thing is, why list people who didn't give anything except a line or just a very brief appearance? Still, some of the things said in here about the characters are pretty funny.
2) Main story. Now, even though I still can't decipher what was going on, the main story was pretty interesting. The whole fight with the beholder was fun and exciting. Then the missing noblewoman was an interesting twist.
3) Asper, Durnan, and Mirt. The main characters were pretty interesting as well. Asper, in my opinion, was by fair the best of the trio with her acrobatics and agility. It was fun to read about all her "crazy" moves. Durnan was interesting in that he is a tavern keeper, yet adventurer and that in his "age" he can still put up a good fight. Mirt was interesting because even though he was "bigger," he was agile and "smooth" with the women for some odd reason.
Overall: 2/5
*Too much going on to make any sense of it. My head is still trying to figure it all out. The only redeeming qualities were the character list at the end and the beholder fight.*
Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham- The story is about Liriel Baenre, the daughter of Gromph Baenre, who is the archmage of Menzoberranzan. Liriel is an up and coming mage, under the tutelage of Xandra Shobalar, the Mistress of Magic. During this time, Liriel is coming of age and is to undertake a ritual called “The Blooding” in which she would make her first kill and become a true drow. However, things don’t go as Liriel thought they would.
Negatives:
I can’t think of anything wrong about this story.
Positives:
1) Liriel. She’s a very interesting character and it’s nice to see a little more into her background than what we read in Starlight and Shadows trilogy. You can see how innocent, yet at the same time, not she is. And I liked that we get to see how bright and cunning she really is.
2) Story. The whole story was wonderful. From the start to the finish, everything was well done and it really made you want to read and finish the story.
3) Look into a drow’s mind. This really did offer a good look into how cunning and devious drow’s are. You can get a great sense of how cold and calculating they are. Also, you get a sense that not all drow’s are born evil, but become more and more twisted into being that way.
Overall: 5/5
*Great look into a drow’s mind and a great story revolving around Liriel Baenre.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore- The story revolves around a deep gnome named Wykar and a derro named Geppo in search of a treasure that they buried when enslaved by drow. Wykar is utterly determined to destroy an egg, while promising that Geppo can have the gold. Along the way, peril and danger await them, along with betrayal.
Negatives:
1) Raurogh's Hall. The scenes involving the little community of Raurogh's Hall, were quite honestly, boring. I didn't see the point to add them in there, sure it may have been more interesting if more thought and relevance to the story would have been into this part. The main thing I got out of this is they have an earthquake, a fisher women counts till she hears a splash and becomes a hero. Exciting.
2) Plains of Eastern Shaar. Once again, the same reason as above. It was almost as pointless. It was boring and at times, made no real sense to the plot. However, it does get somewhat tied in at the end, and I might be stretching it.
3) Geppo's Speech. It did not seem like he was slow, in fact the reason he talked like that was because of a metal wire their drow masters tied around his neck. But why does that make him talk so, for lack of a better term, stupid? Granted, he probably couldn't pronounce certain words, but come on...
Positives:
1) Wykar and Geppo. Both the characters were pretty thought out and very interesting. Wykar's paranoia about Geppo betraying him was well done. Throughout the story, he doesn't trust Geppo. Geppo on the other hand gets interesting towards the end, and because I don't want to give anything away, his back story was touching and sad. And it makes me think that he really is mentally challenged. Even the relationship between the characters was very interesting. Geppo seemed to wholly trust Wykar, while Wykar didn't seem to trust in Geppo at all. It made for an interesting story.
2) The End. The ending came unexpected and was very heart wrenching. It was one of those moments when I have to take a break, else I might lose it. It was that emotional and sad for me.
Overall: 4/5
*Even though I had some major problems with some scenes, the ending is what really made this story wonderful. It really made me feel some sort of sorrow for the two main characters.*
Volo Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen- The story is about a maître d'/waiter/cook named Percival Gallard Woodehous, commonly called Pig and the renowned traveling author Volo in their journey to Menzoberranzan, as prisoners.
Negatives:
1) Courun and Haukun. These were pathetic excuses for drow. It was terrible seeing how inept they are. I thought that all drow were a certain way...
Positives:
1) Percival. Every interesting character. He seemed like a maître d' and was a very well done character.
2) Volo. I haven't really read much about Volo, and it was interesting to see his personality and how complex a character he is at times. You couldn't get very much information with the short stories that featured him.
3) Humor. An amazingly funny story. Mostly because of the ineptness of the drow duo.
Overall: 4/5
*It seemed like this should have been a little shorter and it really did feel pretty fast and short.*
Postscript: Back at the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- Just pretty much wraps up the previous story and wraps up the anthology.
*Once again, not really commenting on this.*
OVERALL ANTHOLOGY: 4/5
*Good stories overall, except for the Ed Greenwood confusion laced story.*
January 8, 2021
Five pretty solid Forgotten Realms related stories are contained in this paperback. In order of the stories I enjoyed best:
1) The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony takes place during the time when a very young Drizzt Do'Urden was still a page boy in House Do'Urden and deals with Zaknafein's search for a special dagger in order to gain Lloth's favor for Matron Malice and the House. Anthony's story is really well done and he nails all the characters. I am a sucker for any Drow stories anyway.
2) Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham is a Liriel Baenre story. Liriel is the spell using daughter of Gromph Baenre, Menzoberranzan's main wizard. The story focuses on Liriel's Blood Letting ritual which would involve a challenging test in the Underdark. Her nemesis is Xandra, her teacher, and Cunningham weaves a nice story around this.
3) Vole Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen focuses on FR writer/traveler Volo who along with a cook gets entwined in the Underdark on a journey to Menzoberranzan. A rather light story overall that was enjoyable.
4) A Slow Day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood involves a lot of FR characters but focuses on Murt and Durnan who are tricked into an Underdark adventure by a beholder. A very busy story.
5) Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore pairs former slaves, one a deep gnome and the other a derro, in an adventure wherein they seek revenge on their drow captors. A rather dark story and one I found to be the darkest in the entire book.
1) The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony takes place during the time when a very young Drizzt Do'Urden was still a page boy in House Do'Urden and deals with Zaknafein's search for a special dagger in order to gain Lloth's favor for Matron Malice and the House. Anthony's story is really well done and he nails all the characters. I am a sucker for any Drow stories anyway.
2) Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham is a Liriel Baenre story. Liriel is the spell using daughter of Gromph Baenre, Menzoberranzan's main wizard. The story focuses on Liriel's Blood Letting ritual which would involve a challenging test in the Underdark. Her nemesis is Xandra, her teacher, and Cunningham weaves a nice story around this.
3) Vole Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen focuses on FR writer/traveler Volo who along with a cook gets entwined in the Underdark on a journey to Menzoberranzan. A rather light story overall that was enjoyable.
4) A Slow Day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood involves a lot of FR characters but focuses on Murt and Durnan who are tricked into an Underdark adventure by a beholder. A very busy story.
5) Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore pairs former slaves, one a deep gnome and the other a derro, in an adventure wherein they seek revenge on their drow captors. A rather dark story and one I found to be the darkest in the entire book.
July 23, 2016
Hmmm, 3 to 3.5 stars, only because the Drizzt Do'Urden and Liriel Baenre stories saved it for me.
The other stories felt a bit weak. Probably because there wasn't much time to develop the characters and the overall details of everything else. Although there was one other short story that caught me in the end that made it worth while to read. Just everything else is very sparse.
Regardless, the Drizzt story was really something. It focused more on Zak, who I remembered from reading however much I did of the 1st Drizzt book before it was taken on me lol. I really liked the set up and how it developed everything really well. And by Lloth, the ending was really something. And them Driders (LAWL) gave me nightmares for a while. Hate to become one of them if I was a drow. :/
Liriel's story was alright. I think the problem for me was the fact there wasn't much of Liriel appearing in the story until more towards the end. Don't get me wrong, the story was great, just wished for more Liriel moments. :/
And the previews were something worth while getting to as well!
Off to more reading. :D
Until next time!
The other stories felt a bit weak. Probably because there wasn't much time to develop the characters and the overall details of everything else. Although there was one other short story that caught me in the end that made it worth while to read. Just everything else is very sparse.
Regardless, the Drizzt story was really something. It focused more on Zak, who I remembered from reading however much I did of the 1st Drizzt book before it was taken on me lol. I really liked the set up and how it developed everything really well. And by Lloth, the ending was really something. And them Driders (LAWL) gave me nightmares for a while. Hate to become one of them if I was a drow. :/
Liriel's story was alright. I think the problem for me was the fact there wasn't much of Liriel appearing in the story until more towards the end. Don't get me wrong, the story was great, just wished for more Liriel moments. :/
And the previews were something worth while getting to as well!
Off to more reading. :D
Until next time!
April 26, 2015
Fun book for Forgotten Realms fans, particularly R.A. Salvatore and Ed Greenwood. Books like this are also good for long car rides or when you don't want to read a full volume.
Honestly, I don't remember this book too much because I read it back in high school. If you're trying to reclaim a few of those old D&D memories, this book is good.
Honestly, I don't remember this book too much because I read it back in high school. If you're trying to reclaim a few of those old D&D memories, this book is good.
March 30, 2020
I liked the stories about Liriel's rite of blood and Volo's trip to Menzoberranzan.
December 7, 2017
A collection of short stories set in the Underdark of the Forgotten Realms. I was all set to give this 2 stars after the first two stories, but they got better.
The first one focused on Zaknafein and was decent enough. It had a few neat details of drow culture, but I think it made some mistakes with Drizzt in terms of continuity. (As in some of the stuff that happened, Drizzt probably would have mentioned in his own books as he was telling his story) The writing was stilted and overwrought.
The Ed Greenwood story (Slow Day In Skullport) was pretty much a randomized collection of fantasy adventure words. Borderline incoherent. If you told me it had been generated by a twitter bot I would 100% believe you. So bad.
Elaine Cunningham's Liriel story was well-written and I enjoyed reading more about her. Once more we got some inklings that drow (even prominent ones) aren't all chaotic evil psychopaths, which gives them some nuance.
Roger Moore's revenge story I enjoyed. Note to self: earthquakes must be pretty much the most terrifying things to cultures that live underground.
The Volo story was fun and silly.
The first one focused on Zaknafein and was decent enough. It had a few neat details of drow culture, but I think it made some mistakes with Drizzt in terms of continuity. (As in some of the stuff that happened, Drizzt probably would have mentioned in his own books as he was telling his story) The writing was stilted and overwrought.
The Ed Greenwood story (Slow Day In Skullport) was pretty much a randomized collection of fantasy adventure words. Borderline incoherent. If you told me it had been generated by a twitter bot I would 100% believe you. So bad.
Elaine Cunningham's Liriel story was well-written and I enjoyed reading more about her. Once more we got some inklings that drow (even prominent ones) aren't all chaotic evil psychopaths, which gives them some nuance.
Roger Moore's revenge story I enjoyed. Note to self: earthquakes must be pretty much the most terrifying things to cultures that live underground.
The Volo story was fun and silly.
November 27, 2023
An Underdark volume without Salvatore but with Drizzt?! Yes, Mark Anthony wrote a Drizzt story for this as a test to see if he could write a Drizzt novel. He did write one but it was never published as Salvatore decided to come back. Overall, a fun look at the subterranean world of Faerun. A little too much focused on Skull Port and Menzoberranzan (only one story is outside of these), but fun overall.
December 21, 2017
Really a 4 1/2 star rating, as the last two short stories were interesting, but not riveting like the first 3 were. I’ve always had a soft spot for the stories involving the Underdark and these did not disappoint. Worthy of the authors who penned them.
October 8, 2021
Decent stories all around, with one glaring exception -- Ed Greenwood's story starts nowhere, goes nowhere, and ends up nowhere. Otherwise excellent stories filling out the background of many favorite Faerun characters.
June 9, 2023
This is a great collection of short stories in the underdark. Stories 1 and 3 are definitely my favourite prequel stories of Zack and laurel. A slow day in skullport was 3 stars. Sea of Ghosts 4 stars. Volvo does menzo.
July 31, 2023
started reading this in prep for baldur's gate 3 as i'm wholly unfamiliar with the forgotten realms lore and because i picked a drow as my first character. i only read 3/5 of the stories (ed greenwood's prose is abhorrent and the volo story wasn't my cup of tea) but i did enjoy the three i read.
December 11, 2019
Awesome short stories. Excellent stuff. =)
April 27, 2020
A nice story collection of various tales of the Underdark.
June 10, 2020
ripping good yarn
April 15, 2024
Great collection of short stories here. And to my knowledge the only story that features Drizzt by a different author than Salvatore.
July 29, 2025
Best Story - Elaine Cunningham.
October 9, 2011
Like the other Realms of X anthology books, Realms of the Underdark is a collection of various short stories having to do with the Underdark. It’s an older book, and I noticed it had a different format than the newer Realms of X anthology books. It starts off with a prologue and epilogue that deal with the publishing of one of the short stories in the book, and presumably, Realms of the Underdark. I found these sections funny, mostly because of the thinly veiled references to real people, such as Ed Greenwood, or Jeff Grubb, but a little unnecessary. Same thing with the horrid 2e-style illustrations. I will say, if the illustrations continued on into the 3e era Realms of X books, with better quality and color, I would have liked that. Also, the book contained fewer stories, but the ones that were included were enlarged. Personally, I like the format of “more stories at shorter length” more.
The first short story, “Fires of Narbondel”, by Mark Anthony, dealt with Zaknefein, Drizzt’s father. Overall, I found the story stale, and I really can’t put my finger on it as to why. Something about it just seemed flat. It might be, simply, Drizzt exhaustion, and me not finding the characters/locations as compelling and interesting as I used to. It also might be the fact that it was Mark Anthony writing the story, and not R.A. Salvatore. Nothing against Mr. Anthony’s writing, since it’s not fundamentally flawed in any way, but that might explain the subtle “imbalance” that I felt reading the story.
The second short story, “A Slow Day in Skullport”, by Ed Greenwood, I didn’t enjoy too much. There was too much going on. Towards the end of the story, which only was about 75 pages, we have Mirt, Durnan, Asper, a Lamia, a Behir, Halaster, and Nythyx all being involved in the endgame sequence in some way, shape, or form. I could have done without the appearance of Elminster, Laeral and Halaster- though, the scenes of them polymorphed into mundane and silly things, like stalactites, bats, and walls were humorous. I think their presence embodies the “superhero” misconception that the setting has. In reality, there wasn’t any need for Elminster or Laeral to even appear in the story, since they didn’t serve much of a function in resolving the main problem. Halaster, too, to a degree. Their appearances were unnecessary, and I would have rather had Halaster written out of an active role in the plot, as opposed to just observing, or something similar. I did like the ‘Personae Dramatis’ section at the end, since there were a lot of character involved in so few pages. I wish all Forgotten Realms novels followed that format, including one.
The third story, “Rite of Blood”, by Elaine Cunningham, was the first story in the book I actually liked and enjoyed. Asides for obvious things, the biggest difference between Liriel Baenre (who I like) and Drizzt Do’Urden (who I don’t, particularly), is their ‘Drow cunning’, and Liriel displayed plenty of it here, with the story’s twist ending. One throw-away line that I enjoyed dealt with Liriel explaining to her father that one “Captain Jarlaxle” aided and abetted her learning roguish skills, such as knife throwing. While “Captain Jarlaxle” might not be THE Jarlaxle, her uncle, I’d like to think that it was, and that he was partially responsible for honing Liriel’s roguish side.
The forth story, “Sea of Ghosts”, by Roger Moore, was my favorite story in the compilation anthology. One of the main characters, Geppo, was a Derro. Derro are a race I find interesting, that barely get coverage anywhere in the D&D world, always being overshadowed by other Underdark races. The way Geppo was written made him feel like a real individual- I think it was his way of speaking. Overall, he reminded me a lot like Gollum, a pitiable creature that you feel bad for, and in doing so, form an emotional connection. The ending was actually genuinely sad- again, that’s the emotional connection from feeling pity for the creature. I liked how it highlighted that something so much as a simple gesture that you, personally, think nothing of, can mean the world for someone else. It was nice to see Geppo, who had such a crappy life, die genuinely happy.
The fifth story, “Volo Does Menzo”, by Brian Thomsen, I did not initially like, but I grew into it as I got further into the story. The story didn’t feature anyone particular of note, other than Volo- who, himself, is an author, and, famous as he is, isn’t really a somebody, if that makes sense. The story did a good job of highlighting the lives of non-heroic, mundane people, such as Volo, or Percy, a cook. I didn’t like the ending of the story, though. It was way too abrupt. It seemed to me like Mr. Thomsen wrote himself into a corner, with Volo and Percy being delivered to Menzoberranzan as slaves, and needed an out, so wrote “They teleported, escaping, and lived happily ever after”. Outside of that, though, I didn’t have any problems with the story.
The first short story, “Fires of Narbondel”, by Mark Anthony, dealt with Zaknefein, Drizzt’s father. Overall, I found the story stale, and I really can’t put my finger on it as to why. Something about it just seemed flat. It might be, simply, Drizzt exhaustion, and me not finding the characters/locations as compelling and interesting as I used to. It also might be the fact that it was Mark Anthony writing the story, and not R.A. Salvatore. Nothing against Mr. Anthony’s writing, since it’s not fundamentally flawed in any way, but that might explain the subtle “imbalance” that I felt reading the story.
The second short story, “A Slow Day in Skullport”, by Ed Greenwood, I didn’t enjoy too much. There was too much going on. Towards the end of the story, which only was about 75 pages, we have Mirt, Durnan, Asper, a Lamia, a Behir, Halaster, and Nythyx all being involved in the endgame sequence in some way, shape, or form. I could have done without the appearance of Elminster, Laeral and Halaster- though, the scenes of them polymorphed into mundane and silly things, like stalactites, bats, and walls were humorous. I think their presence embodies the “superhero” misconception that the setting has. In reality, there wasn’t any need for Elminster or Laeral to even appear in the story, since they didn’t serve much of a function in resolving the main problem. Halaster, too, to a degree. Their appearances were unnecessary, and I would have rather had Halaster written out of an active role in the plot, as opposed to just observing, or something similar. I did like the ‘Personae Dramatis’ section at the end, since there were a lot of character involved in so few pages. I wish all Forgotten Realms novels followed that format, including one.
The third story, “Rite of Blood”, by Elaine Cunningham, was the first story in the book I actually liked and enjoyed. Asides for obvious things, the biggest difference between Liriel Baenre (who I like) and Drizzt Do’Urden (who I don’t, particularly), is their ‘Drow cunning’, and Liriel displayed plenty of it here, with the story’s twist ending. One throw-away line that I enjoyed dealt with Liriel explaining to her father that one “Captain Jarlaxle” aided and abetted her learning roguish skills, such as knife throwing. While “Captain Jarlaxle” might not be THE Jarlaxle, her uncle, I’d like to think that it was, and that he was partially responsible for honing Liriel’s roguish side.
The forth story, “Sea of Ghosts”, by Roger Moore, was my favorite story in the compilation anthology. One of the main characters, Geppo, was a Derro. Derro are a race I find interesting, that barely get coverage anywhere in the D&D world, always being overshadowed by other Underdark races. The way Geppo was written made him feel like a real individual- I think it was his way of speaking. Overall, he reminded me a lot like Gollum, a pitiable creature that you feel bad for, and in doing so, form an emotional connection. The ending was actually genuinely sad- again, that’s the emotional connection from feeling pity for the creature. I liked how it highlighted that something so much as a simple gesture that you, personally, think nothing of, can mean the world for someone else. It was nice to see Geppo, who had such a crappy life, die genuinely happy.
The fifth story, “Volo Does Menzo”, by Brian Thomsen, I did not initially like, but I grew into it as I got further into the story. The story didn’t feature anyone particular of note, other than Volo- who, himself, is an author, and, famous as he is, isn’t really a somebody, if that makes sense. The story did a good job of highlighting the lives of non-heroic, mundane people, such as Volo, or Percy, a cook. I didn’t like the ending of the story, though. It was way too abrupt. It seemed to me like Mr. Thomsen wrote himself into a corner, with Volo and Percy being delivered to Menzoberranzan as slaves, and needed an out, so wrote “They teleported, escaping, and lived happily ever after”. Outside of that, though, I didn’t have any problems with the story.
July 8, 2021
I've been reading these anthologies out of order, but I'm trying to fix that. (that is to say the next one I "review" will finally be the actual first one.)
Without further delay, let's get down to it.
"The Fires of Narbondel" By Mark Anthony
Another Mark Anthony short story. I remember reading "The Walls of Midnight" which was also by him and enjoying it. It was a bit surprising to see another author's take on R.A Salvatore's characters and in my opinion, he has done a wonderful job capturing Zak's essence.
The structure of the story was coherent. Malice was a bit more likable in this than in Salvatore's books. I'm not sure how I feel about it honestly: on one hand, it is a mischaracterization, on the other hand, I am always happy when authors break "tradition" with the drow and make them more individual within their strictly structured society, even if it is already an established character. It was also refreshing following Zak's thought process for a change, and baby Drizzt was a lot more likable for me. I don't necessarily hate adult Drizzt, but I don't necessarily like him either.
A Slow day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood
I honestly have no memory of reading it, but I have read this story. I honestly love Ed's worldbuilding but I haven't found a story of his that I enjoyed thus far.
I love longwinded descriptions normally, but to me, they are built to set up a scene or set a certain atmosphere. If you were to remove the longwinded descriptions the story would have not changed one bit. Maybe Ed was being paid per word, otherwise, I’m honestly not sure why it feels like there’s so much unnecessary description especially at the very beginning.
The story is fast-paced and it feels more as if it is in a hurry rather than to minimize “boring” scenes and maximize “exiting” scenes. All I can say is it was too much. My brain felt as if it was scrambled by the end of it.
It isn’t bad, but it isn’t particularly good.
Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham
I have no real criticism for it especially any of the negative kind. Elaine has a way with words and it’s always captivating to read her works. I liked Liriel, I’m of the mind that not all drow have to be conniving at all times, and Liriel is that middle ground of being both a conniving, ruthless drow and on the other hand a cheerful young drow woman, without it coming off fake.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger. E. Moore
This time I remember the story, tho not much about it.
I can’t say it was bad, tho some parts of it could have been cut out and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The characters, however, were compelling and the ending was very sad.
Volo Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen
This is by far my favorite story. At first, I didn’t care much for it. Percival is typically the type of character I enjoy reading about as a background character, but the two drow were just so charmingly idiotic I couldn’t help but love them to bits. I can’t think of anything negative about it, it was pretty solid in terms of pacing and atmosphere. It being a satire was very refreshing.
Without further delay, let's get down to it.
"The Fires of Narbondel" By Mark Anthony
Another Mark Anthony short story. I remember reading "The Walls of Midnight" which was also by him and enjoying it. It was a bit surprising to see another author's take on R.A Salvatore's characters and in my opinion, he has done a wonderful job capturing Zak's essence.
The structure of the story was coherent. Malice was a bit more likable in this than in Salvatore's books. I'm not sure how I feel about it honestly: on one hand, it is a mischaracterization, on the other hand, I am always happy when authors break "tradition" with the drow and make them more individual within their strictly structured society, even if it is already an established character. It was also refreshing following Zak's thought process for a change, and baby Drizzt was a lot more likable for me. I don't necessarily hate adult Drizzt, but I don't necessarily like him either.
A Slow day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood
I honestly have no memory of reading it, but I have read this story. I honestly love Ed's worldbuilding but I haven't found a story of his that I enjoyed thus far.
I love longwinded descriptions normally, but to me, they are built to set up a scene or set a certain atmosphere. If you were to remove the longwinded descriptions the story would have not changed one bit. Maybe Ed was being paid per word, otherwise, I’m honestly not sure why it feels like there’s so much unnecessary description especially at the very beginning.
The story is fast-paced and it feels more as if it is in a hurry rather than to minimize “boring” scenes and maximize “exiting” scenes. All I can say is it was too much. My brain felt as if it was scrambled by the end of it.
It isn’t bad, but it isn’t particularly good.
Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham
I have no real criticism for it especially any of the negative kind. Elaine has a way with words and it’s always captivating to read her works. I liked Liriel, I’m of the mind that not all drow have to be conniving at all times, and Liriel is that middle ground of being both a conniving, ruthless drow and on the other hand a cheerful young drow woman, without it coming off fake.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger. E. Moore
This time I remember the story, tho not much about it.
I can’t say it was bad, tho some parts of it could have been cut out and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The characters, however, were compelling and the ending was very sad.
Volo Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen
This is by far my favorite story. At first, I didn’t care much for it. Percival is typically the type of character I enjoy reading about as a background character, but the two drow were just so charmingly idiotic I couldn’t help but love them to bits. I can’t think of anything negative about it, it was pretty solid in terms of pacing and atmosphere. It being a satire was very refreshing.
September 27, 2016
Όχι τίποτα το ιδιαίτερο. Αλλά έχει μια prequel ιστορία του Drizzt και μια της Liriel Baenre και κάπως σώζει την κατάσταση.
October 6, 2009
This is a collection of 5 short stories set in different parts of the Underdark. It's obviously a cashing-in of the popularity of drow at the time of its publication. The stories range from very good to very poor, unfortunately leaning towards the latter. The best story is "Volo does Menzo" by Brian M. Thomsen, which is a very unique tale about Volo the famous travel guide writer and his (mis)-adventures with a chef and two bumbling drow. Elaine Cunningham's short story ("Rite of Blood") on Liriel Baenre was also well-written. Too bad Mark Anthony's take on Zaknafein and a very young Drizzt ("Fires of Narbondel"), and "Sea of Ghosts" by Roger E. Moore about a duergar and a svirfneblin's escape were only so-so at best. The worst is unfortunately Ed Greenwood's "A Slow Day in Skullport", which was a very wooden way of describing combat between good guys and bad guys (you can almost count the rounds and hear the dice) which had very little character development - making it boring and impossible to relate. Still, if you're a fan of the Forgotten Realms, the good ones will be worth the whole book I suppose.
April 20, 2015
A couple of some rather average stories. Two were a lot better (about Liriel and about the gnome and derro), but overall not really good.
On a side note, I finally understand why women like stories about drows so much. The matriarchal society with all the constant female intrigues, backstabbing, death sentences for smallest failures and keeping men as playthings... It's surprising that the drow civilization in Faerun survived for so long ;-).
On a side note, I finally understand why women like stories about drows so much. The matriarchal society with all the constant female intrigues, backstabbing, death sentences for smallest failures and keeping men as playthings... It's surprising that the drow civilization in Faerun survived for so long ;-).
September 27, 2010
I enjoyed it. It's nice to come across some authors that still do forgotten realms stuff well...it's been so long...
Anywho, the story about Drizzt's dad was great. And I also enjoyed the one by Elain Cunningham. Even the story about the Druger and the Deep Gnome, "Sea of Ghosts", was good.
The stuff about Volo was probably the least entertaining for me.
Anywho, the story about Drizzt's dad was great. And I also enjoyed the one by Elain Cunningham. Even the story about the Druger and the Deep Gnome, "Sea of Ghosts", was good.
The stuff about Volo was probably the least entertaining for me.
September 8, 2016
Was not too sure, but now I can say the short-stories within this collection was quite good.
If you like decent Sword & Sorcery tales concerning Dark Elves then pick up on this.
If you like decent Sword & Sorcery tales concerning Dark Elves then pick up on this.
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