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Forgotten Realms: Pools #3
Pool of Twilight
A young paladin seeks the holy hammer of the Church of Tyr, which supposedly vanished when the evil god Bane, who had stolen it, was destroyed
312 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1993
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651 people want to read
About the author
James M. Ward
116 books55 followersJames M. Ward (b. 1951) is an American game designer and fantasy author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 13, 2025
The third in the series, though I haven't read the second one.
Once again the city of Phlan (the center of the world in the series) is in danger of being destroyed. Personally any city with a tavern named "The Bloated Corpse" sounds pretty cool to me. Maybe they serve my favorite, Captain Braindeath's Rum? The good kind WITH the extra sheep tranquilizers in it!
Anyway, the son of heroes from the other books, a paladin aspirant named Kern, is: how should I put it? A complete noob. He's really annoying, but the rest of the cast of characters make up for him even though he's like the "Chosen One."
Miltiades was the most awesome out of the bunch. Listle was "cute", but the amount of teasing she does is over the top by halfway and it got tiresome. Heckens, Kern pretty much says that and I'm nodding along at one point.
The dialogue was bad at times, especially Kern's, but the story itself I thought was really fun and that's why I'm going with 4 stars instead of 3. It was slightly tough to choose.
Once again the city of Phlan (the center of the world in the series) is in danger of being destroyed. Personally any city with a tavern named "The Bloated Corpse" sounds pretty cool to me. Maybe they serve my favorite, Captain Braindeath's Rum? The good kind WITH the extra sheep tranquilizers in it!
Anyway, the son of heroes from the other books, a paladin aspirant named Kern, is: how should I put it? A complete noob. He's really annoying, but the rest of the cast of characters make up for him even though he's like the "Chosen One."
Miltiades was the most awesome out of the bunch. Listle was "cute", but the amount of teasing she does is over the top by halfway and it got tiresome. Heckens, Kern pretty much says that and I'm nodding along at one point.
The dialogue was bad at times, especially Kern's, but the story itself I thought was really fun and that's why I'm going with 4 stars instead of 3. It was slightly tough to choose.
January 20, 2022
Still not quite at the same level as the first book in the trilogy, but still a very good read. Focusing mostly on a new generation of young adventurers who are assisted by our loveable veterans, I found it much easier to be engaged with the new characters in this book than in Pools of Darkness. Plus, some of this book was able to add some additional flavor to the characters introduced in Pools and get me invested there as well.
One new character in particular, Listle, was essentially an anime character brought into the Forgotten Realms and I could help but become attached to her.
There was one pivotal death in the book that I wish had been handled better. My reaction was, "After all this, that's it?". I would have liked a little bit more emotional depth to it - I can see where the author was probably trying to go with it, but I don't think it really worked. It certainly didn't work for me.
One new character in particular, Listle, was essentially an anime character brought into the Forgotten Realms and I could help but become attached to her.
There was one pivotal death in the book that I wish had been handled better. My reaction was, "After all this, that's it?". I would have liked a little bit more emotional depth to it - I can see where the author was probably trying to go with it, but I don't think it really worked. It certainly didn't work for me.
October 3, 2022
The last in the trilogy
The heroes of the previous books have some children and it's up to them to save the day.
Blah blah, same old same old. More 2-dimensional characters, some die (and I didn't care because I had no emotional connection with them, even if they did survive a few books), some live (and I didn't care because I had no emotional connection with them either) and some fall in love just because it's the done thing. I wouldn't bother reading this if I were you.
The heroes of the previous books have some children and it's up to them to save the day.
Blah blah, same old same old. More 2-dimensional characters, some die (and I didn't care because I had no emotional connection with them, even if they did survive a few books), some live (and I didn't care because I had no emotional connection with them either) and some fall in love just because it's the done thing. I wouldn't bother reading this if I were you.
August 17, 2016
Definitely not as good as Pools of Radiance, but much better than the awfulness that was Pools of Darkness.
The characters were the best part of this novel. They are an odd bunch, but strangely lovable.
Plot had a lot of ups and downs.
Overall it wasn't a terrible read!
The characters were the best part of this novel. They are an odd bunch, but strangely lovable.
Plot had a lot of ups and downs.
Overall it wasn't a terrible read!
March 31, 2019
Although this was slightly less of a mess than the prior book in this series, Pools of Darkness, it was still a mess. Call it Pool of Radiance: The Next Generation. Here, the children of the original Heroes of Phlan, Tarl, Shan, and Ren o' the Blades, take center stage, but they do not exactly shine. The old folks even hold them back, spending their time being morose and self-defeating (or unconscious), forcing the kids to pander to their pity parties. All of the characters new and old are extremely one-dimensional and uninteresting.
The writing is slightly improved, making it less painful to read than its predecessor, but not much. The whole book (and series) is way too dungeon-master-y in its storytelling. What works at the RPG table doesn't translate well into a novel. There is good descriptive vocabulary, but it comes out as awkward use of language. Random, inconsequential encounters take up page space unnecessarily, such as (not a spoiler because it is meaningless) when Elaine encounters a stone golem in the mountains, and bypasses the encounter in a way that I guess is meant to be amusing but isn't. This has absolutely zero to do with the rest of the book and has no impact whatsoever. There are many cases such as this. There is frequent telling, not showing, in the worst way. For example, there were multiple instances such as "Listle tossed a few choice insults [and]... imaginative taunts". Don't tell me that, write out the freaking taunts! A new party member was introduced only 100 pages before the end of the book. There are so many examples of what not to do in crafting a novel, these are only the most glaring.
Clearly, James Ward is a better RPG designer than an author, given that he required writing partners to produce these three books and even then the results were terrible. There is one more novel coming up in this series (The Ruins of Myth Drannor) which fortunately has a different author. I fully expect it to also be terrible, but we shall see in time.
The writing is slightly improved, making it less painful to read than its predecessor, but not much. The whole book (and series) is way too dungeon-master-y in its storytelling. What works at the RPG table doesn't translate well into a novel. There is good descriptive vocabulary, but it comes out as awkward use of language. Random, inconsequential encounters take up page space unnecessarily, such as (not a spoiler because it is meaningless) when Elaine encounters a stone golem in the mountains, and bypasses the encounter in a way that I guess is meant to be amusing but isn't. This has absolutely zero to do with the rest of the book and has no impact whatsoever. There are many cases such as this. There is frequent telling, not showing, in the worst way. For example, there were multiple instances such as "Listle tossed a few choice insults [and]... imaginative taunts". Don't tell me that, write out the freaking taunts! A new party member was introduced only 100 pages before the end of the book. There are so many examples of what not to do in crafting a novel, these are only the most glaring.
Clearly, James Ward is a better RPG designer than an author, given that he required writing partners to produce these three books and even then the results were terrible. There is one more novel coming up in this series (The Ruins of Myth Drannor) which fortunately has a different author. I fully expect it to also be terrible, but we shall see in time.
September 8, 2019
Book #3 in the "pools" Trilogy, is a nice wrap up to what in general has been an entertaining series. This book follows the next generation of heroes (Kern the son of Tarl and Shal, Daile the daughter of Ren O' the Blade) and Villians (Sirana daughter of the BBEG from the second book) as the fight for the destiny of Phlan.
This book is similar to the other 2 in the series in that the plot is relatively straight forward (get item X, use item X to save city). A mix of new characters and old gives a little more depth to the book and most characters, even ones added towards the end, are well rounded with specific reasonable motivation.
Like the other books in this series magic is in great abundance. Everyone appears to have some sort of overpowered magic item that plays a key role in rescuing the heroes or advancing the plot. In addition, almost as an attempt to outdo the previous books, characters also have special abilities making them even more powerful. To be honest, each of the powers is described and used well, its just the fact that everyone has one that makes this team of heroes a little over-powered.
This book is similar to the other 2 in the series in that the plot is relatively straight forward (get item X, use item X to save city). A mix of new characters and old gives a little more depth to the book and most characters, even ones added towards the end, are well rounded with specific reasonable motivation.
Like the other books in this series magic is in great abundance. Everyone appears to have some sort of overpowered magic item that plays a key role in rescuing the heroes or advancing the plot. In addition, almost as an attempt to outdo the previous books, characters also have special abilities making them even more powerful. To be honest, each of the powers is described and used well, its just the fact that everyone has one that makes this team of heroes a little over-powered.
December 7, 2023
I wish I could say I liked this book as much as I did the first two books in the trilogy, but I can't.
It was bad enough that book 2 jumped ahead 10 years after book one but this book has us 20 years further down the line. This time the baby born in the last book is now 20 years old and out to fulfill his destiny. I don't know but jumping ahead a decade or two between each story somehow sours me on any book. (For the record, I don't like it when the author crams 17 books into 3 years storywise time...yes, I mean J.D. Robb).
As expected the son of the two previous characters is named Kern and he is a Paladin who catches the ire of Bane. Kern forms his own group of adventurers and as a team, they all go out to fight Bane. There are plenty of fantasy monsters (especially undead) to fight along the way.
I just couldn't get into this book. We were told nothing about Kern's life as a child and the characters in the previous books were non-existent. Not the way I like series to go!
It was bad enough that book 2 jumped ahead 10 years after book one but this book has us 20 years further down the line. This time the baby born in the last book is now 20 years old and out to fulfill his destiny. I don't know but jumping ahead a decade or two between each story somehow sours me on any book. (For the record, I don't like it when the author crams 17 books into 3 years storywise time...yes, I mean J.D. Robb).
As expected the son of the two previous characters is named Kern and he is a Paladin who catches the ire of Bane. Kern forms his own group of adventurers and as a team, they all go out to fight Bane. There are plenty of fantasy monsters (especially undead) to fight along the way.
I just couldn't get into this book. We were told nothing about Kern's life as a child and the characters in the previous books were non-existent. Not the way I like series to go!
October 29, 2023
This trilogy is a downhill spiral. Some vaguely interesting ideas in this book, particularly the young elf character, but it's pedestrian at best.
The most utterly infuriating aspect is that by the end of the novel, Kern etc unite with Shal and Tarl, unless i'm mistaken there was no mention of the fact there friend Ren had died. His daughter, Daile speaks with Kern about returning to the valley to honor her father. There is no moment where Shal and Tarl reflect on the passing of their friend all they accomplished.
It infuriated me. I mean, the characters from Radiance slowly receded with each book, but i felt it was a moment that was essential to the finale of a trilogy. The writing was very average YA anyway, this just left the lamest taste in my mouth before removing it from my kindle.
The most utterly infuriating aspect is that by the end of the novel, Kern etc unite with Shal and Tarl, unless i'm mistaken there was no mention of the fact there friend Ren had died. His daughter, Daile speaks with Kern about returning to the valley to honor her father. There is no moment where Shal and Tarl reflect on the passing of their friend all they accomplished.
It infuriated me. I mean, the characters from Radiance slowly receded with each book, but i felt it was a moment that was essential to the finale of a trilogy. The writing was very average YA anyway, this just left the lamest taste in my mouth before removing it from my kindle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2020
Dans ce troisième tome de la trilogie des héros de Phlan, nous faisons suite au précédent épisode avec la recherche de la dernière fontaine qui peut mettre en péril la cité de Phlan.
Le récit est très linéaire, très prévisible et sans vraiment d'intérêt. L'histoire est d'une grande pauvreté, alternant scènes de combat avec des scènes de réflexion misérables.
C'est un épisode très décevant de la série des Royaumes Oubliés qui fait chuter considérablement le niveau alors que ce dernier était déjà bien entamé par cette trilogie.
Alors que l'univers se prête à des histoires, des quêtes fantastiques, les auteurs apparemment en sont incapables et écrivent des romans que tout un chacun pourrait pourrait écrire.
Le récit est très linéaire, très prévisible et sans vraiment d'intérêt. L'histoire est d'une grande pauvreté, alternant scènes de combat avec des scènes de réflexion misérables.
C'est un épisode très décevant de la série des Royaumes Oubliés qui fait chuter considérablement le niveau alors que ce dernier était déjà bien entamé par cette trilogie.
Alors que l'univers se prête à des histoires, des quêtes fantastiques, les auteurs apparemment en sont incapables et écrivent des romans que tout un chacun pourrait pourrait écrire.
July 18, 2018
Questo libro conclude la trilogia dei Pools, chiudendo il cerchio con il recupero del martello di Tyr da parte del figlio di Tarl, Kern. Diciamo che si posiziona come qualità tra il secondo (effettivamente il più bello) e il primo (piuttosto grezzo). Diciamo che i personaggi sono ancor meglio delineati, e la storia è leggermente più complessa dei libri precedenti. Però, come al solito di Ward, la quest per il martello si chiude praticamente in un attimo, e la distruzione del Pool of twilight avviene senza troppi problemi. Diciamo che il lieto fine era praticamente nell'aria già dalla prima pagina, e questo ha inficiato in buona maniera sul libro.
November 7, 2023
Some parts of the book deserve less than 3 stars, but I'll give it three for the huge (positive) difference between this one and the second book of the series (Pool of Darkness).
Characters start making sense and become people in this book, the old ones and the new ones. If the authors had not felt compelled to abide by the compulsory over-sweetened happy end, they would have even had enjoyable arcs. Some even had surprising moments of actual introspection.
The villains are still comically childish and stupid and there are enough insufferable dialogues to make the reader repeatedly cringe.
Characters start making sense and become people in this book, the old ones and the new ones. If the authors had not felt compelled to abide by the compulsory over-sweetened happy end, they would have even had enjoyable arcs. Some even had surprising moments of actual introspection.
The villains are still comically childish and stupid and there are enough insufferable dialogues to make the reader repeatedly cringe.
September 11, 2017
Third in the series of books about the mysterious pools in the Forgotten Realms setting. Kern sets out to recovery the Hammer of Tyr to save Phlan from its ongoing decay and to become a fullmpaladin. Joining him includes an eleven illusionist, a ranger, an undead paladin, and a few others. He is tested in his adventure, having to confront nightmares, evil fiendish sorceress, a black dragon, etc. he must decide between saving his friends or doing the right thing for his town. Overall very good although the writing is kind of stilted at times. A good book for D&D or other fantasy fans.
March 30, 2011
As far as Forgotten Realms books go, I was pleasantly suprised by how much I enjoyed this one. Especially since the second book in this series was soooo bad.
The last couple of FR books I've read felt like they, if you can believe this, had very little fantasy going on. Don't get me wrong, one had a 'devil' chasing the characters around and the other had some serious sorrcery...but over all the stories weren't about fantasy stuff at all. They were really pretty poorly told stories about how humans interact with each other, and there are plenty of authors who write about that topic much better than 1990's Forgotten Realms employees. My point is, this book returned to the high fantasy that I crave when I pick up one of these little books.
This story starts out back in the city of Phlan. The same characters that stared in the first two books are here, and now Shal and Tarl have a budding young son whose destiny it is to find the 'Hammer of Tyr". This artifact will restore the quickly diminishing Phlan back to it's former days of glory.
At the present, Phalan is filled with seedy bars and shady characters. Besides our heros and the temple of Tyr, the entire city seems to have fallen on darker days and without the Hammer, the temple can't contend with the dark forces that aim to destroy the entire city.
So, Shal and Tarl's son, Kern (I love these 4 letter names) has to overcome his nervousness about being a hero and strive to become a paladin so he can save everyone. He gets to bring his mother's apprentice, a sharp tounged she-elf that can walk through walls (enter future love interest whose romance will force him to overcome his faults.... Her name is Listle.
Also, some characters from the the second novel, the sorceress Evain, her shapshifting-barbarian/mountainlion-familar Gamaliel, and the kindly undead skeletal paladin Miltiades all return to help our new heros. PLUS! Ren, the other character from the first book, has ALSO had a kid. A ranger daughter (with the druid ability to change into animals) named Daile. So, we've got like 10 characters so far.
Oh wait, Phlan's new nemesis is ALSO somebody's kid! The Red Wizard in the second book had a half-feind daughter named Sirana who has found the most powerful 'pool' of all time and has become a super sorceress with the power to summon all kinds of beasties from all over the deminsions! BUH BUH BUH!!!!
The stage is set...it's the end game. And just to make it a bit more interesting; Shal, Kern's mom, is gonna die if he doesn't hurry up and bring back the hammer....and his dad will be blind forever...sheesh.
Okay, so the first thing that Kern has to do is get a kick-ass hammer...so he can go get the even more kick-ass hammer. And it just so happens that Listle knows a huge "green elf" blacksmith that lives in a tree. They head out to met this guy and the authors totlly steal the story of "Gawain and the Green Knight". So....that was a little weird and disappointing....
But just like Gwain, Kern wins the bet and he gets the magical hammer (though the green elf says it's destined to break if he hits something too hard). So, he and Listle take off back to Phlan and are attacked by a fiend in a knight's outfit. BUT! Sirana (the evil sorcerss) shows up and blasts her own summoned demon knight to win Kern's trust and get wedge her way into the party's interior. So, now there is the most evil of spys following the group to the Hammer of Tyr.
So there is a whole bunch of fights between the heros and zombies and monsters and demons. To sum up, Ren dies and Diale swears vengence. Evain becomes weaker and weaker because a demon is eating her dreams. Sirana takes off from the group when Kern gets the Hammer of Tyr and starts to drink from the "pool of twilight" only to eventually change places with a random Black dragon (great wyrm) that, GET THIS, also has a grudge against Phlan. She becomes the "gardian of the pool" and gains utimate power, but like the mythical genie, she is also the pool's slave(there a silly sub-plot where this dragon wants to start a "dragon-rage" and gather up thousands of dragons to smite the city of Phlan...he gets a bunch of dragons together and then gets called back to play with Sirana and they all go home...it's pretty retarded and pointless and the authors waste a lot of time on psudo-development).
While Sirana is back at the "pool" turning monsters, beasts, and humanoids into zombie abominations to sick on Phlan the heros are all back together to have a final showdown with Sirana and the giant black dragon. But, just like in the lame second book, the dragon (in the role of the Pit fiend) can't stand to be controled by Sirana (in the role of her Red Wizard father) and he kills her. They fall into the "pool of twilight" and reemerge as one (or THE BEST) zombie abominiation.
The heros all fight them, Kern becomes a real paladin, and they eventually win day. Phlan is saved! Shal doesn't die! But! Tarl is still blind....wah-wah-waaaaah.
So, this book had some of the best things from the first book and some of the worst things from the second book. There were also several David Eddings rip-offs, which were just as discouraging as the Gwain and the Green Knight swipe. As I said, over all I enjoyed it.
The last couple of FR books I've read felt like they, if you can believe this, had very little fantasy going on. Don't get me wrong, one had a 'devil' chasing the characters around and the other had some serious sorrcery...but over all the stories weren't about fantasy stuff at all. They were really pretty poorly told stories about how humans interact with each other, and there are plenty of authors who write about that topic much better than 1990's Forgotten Realms employees. My point is, this book returned to the high fantasy that I crave when I pick up one of these little books.
This story starts out back in the city of Phlan. The same characters that stared in the first two books are here, and now Shal and Tarl have a budding young son whose destiny it is to find the 'Hammer of Tyr". This artifact will restore the quickly diminishing Phlan back to it's former days of glory.
At the present, Phalan is filled with seedy bars and shady characters. Besides our heros and the temple of Tyr, the entire city seems to have fallen on darker days and without the Hammer, the temple can't contend with the dark forces that aim to destroy the entire city.
So, Shal and Tarl's son, Kern (I love these 4 letter names) has to overcome his nervousness about being a hero and strive to become a paladin so he can save everyone. He gets to bring his mother's apprentice, a sharp tounged she-elf that can walk through walls (enter future love interest whose romance will force him to overcome his faults.... Her name is Listle.
Also, some characters from the the second novel, the sorceress Evain, her shapshifting-barbarian/mountainlion-familar Gamaliel, and the kindly undead skeletal paladin Miltiades all return to help our new heros. PLUS! Ren, the other character from the first book, has ALSO had a kid. A ranger daughter (with the druid ability to change into animals) named Daile. So, we've got like 10 characters so far.
Oh wait, Phlan's new nemesis is ALSO somebody's kid! The Red Wizard in the second book had a half-feind daughter named Sirana who has found the most powerful 'pool' of all time and has become a super sorceress with the power to summon all kinds of beasties from all over the deminsions! BUH BUH BUH!!!!
The stage is set...it's the end game. And just to make it a bit more interesting; Shal, Kern's mom, is gonna die if he doesn't hurry up and bring back the hammer....and his dad will be blind forever...sheesh.
Okay, so the first thing that Kern has to do is get a kick-ass hammer...so he can go get the even more kick-ass hammer. And it just so happens that Listle knows a huge "green elf" blacksmith that lives in a tree. They head out to met this guy and the authors totlly steal the story of "Gawain and the Green Knight". So....that was a little weird and disappointing....
But just like Gwain, Kern wins the bet and he gets the magical hammer (though the green elf says it's destined to break if he hits something too hard). So, he and Listle take off back to Phlan and are attacked by a fiend in a knight's outfit. BUT! Sirana (the evil sorcerss) shows up and blasts her own summoned demon knight to win Kern's trust and get wedge her way into the party's interior. So, now there is the most evil of spys following the group to the Hammer of Tyr.
So there is a whole bunch of fights between the heros and zombies and monsters and demons. To sum up, Ren dies and Diale swears vengence. Evain becomes weaker and weaker because a demon is eating her dreams. Sirana takes off from the group when Kern gets the Hammer of Tyr and starts to drink from the "pool of twilight" only to eventually change places with a random Black dragon (great wyrm) that, GET THIS, also has a grudge against Phlan. She becomes the "gardian of the pool" and gains utimate power, but like the mythical genie, she is also the pool's slave(there a silly sub-plot where this dragon wants to start a "dragon-rage" and gather up thousands of dragons to smite the city of Phlan...he gets a bunch of dragons together and then gets called back to play with Sirana and they all go home...it's pretty retarded and pointless and the authors waste a lot of time on psudo-development).
While Sirana is back at the "pool" turning monsters, beasts, and humanoids into zombie abominations to sick on Phlan the heros are all back together to have a final showdown with Sirana and the giant black dragon. But, just like in the lame second book, the dragon (in the role of the Pit fiend) can't stand to be controled by Sirana (in the role of her Red Wizard father) and he kills her. They fall into the "pool of twilight" and reemerge as one (or THE BEST) zombie abominiation.
The heros all fight them, Kern becomes a real paladin, and they eventually win day. Phlan is saved! Shal doesn't die! But! Tarl is still blind....wah-wah-waaaaah.
So, this book had some of the best things from the first book and some of the worst things from the second book. There were also several David Eddings rip-offs, which were just as discouraging as the Gwain and the Green Knight swipe. As I said, over all I enjoyed it.
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September 5, 2025This third book in the series hit a lot of the same beats as the previous two. Phlan has fallen on hard times, and only the return of the Hammer of Tyr can fix things. Since this novel takes place about 20 years after the previous one, now it's up to the children of the last set of heroes to save the day. Campy fantasy adventure fun in the usual early Forgotten Realms style.
April 26, 2019
More of the same. More poorly defined characters, more popcorn action, more deliciously evil bad guys. There's nothing deep and/or meaningful presented here in this novel, which is how most of these D&D novels go.
It's a fun and easy quick read, but it's nothing more than that.
It's a fun and easy quick read, but it's nothing more than that.
December 5, 2020
The authors continuously improved their writing and plot points. They always created interesting heroes. I still found the villains cardboard cutouts. Overall the best book in a decent series of D&D.
May 9, 2018
"Flattery will get you everywhere."
"You miss her" (he) said in his oddly matter-of fact voice.
"That is well."
"How so?" (she) found herself asking.
"It means that she was worth knopwing."
"You miss her" (he) said in his oddly matter-of fact voice.
"That is well."
"How so?" (she) found herself asking.
"It means that she was worth knopwing."
March 18, 2019
An excellent story. Very lovely. =)
August 29, 2020
I really liked this one, felt like a classic D and D adventure. Had elements of dungeons, dragons, magic, unique items, and some cool history from the Realms.
January 31, 2021
Meh. Still better than anything Douglas Niles ever wrote for TSR, but it was fairly lackluster and predictable.
April 2, 2023
This was clearly the best book in the series!
December 4, 2023
This is another one from my shelf of to-be-read. I did enjoy it.
March 29, 2024
Not a happy ending for all, this conclusion is improved in the writing department, but not as enjoyable as earlier installments.
October 17, 2013
I acquire books faster than I read them, and I like reading new books, so some get pushed to the back of the shelf to read "later" the Pools or Phlan series, whichever it is known by were some of those books. I've had them for a long while, since I was much younger.
It's worth mentioning the above because I wish I had read them when I was younger, I think I would have enjoyed them more. They just do not hold up to time. They are very cliché (story, characters, & dialogue). Much of the language used in the book seems ripped straight from the game rule books and supplements without too much imagination added to create a little separation. Much of it is very predictable and one dimensional as well. I think a younger me would be more forgiving or less aware of these shortcomings. I did not hate the books but I was certainly glad to be done with them, and mark them off my "need to read" list.
It's worth mentioning the above because I wish I had read them when I was younger, I think I would have enjoyed them more. They just do not hold up to time. They are very cliché (story, characters, & dialogue). Much of the language used in the book seems ripped straight from the game rule books and supplements without too much imagination added to create a little separation. Much of it is very predictable and one dimensional as well. I think a younger me would be more forgiving or less aware of these shortcomings. I did not hate the books but I was certainly glad to be done with them, and mark them off my "need to read" list.
February 14, 2021
More like 3.5 stars, beginning was meh end was pretty good
October 25, 2023
This novel, like many of this era of Forgotten Realms fiction, is a novelization of an existing D&D campaign. Like all novels of this type that I've encountered, it's very obvious where the various skill checks and other die rolls take place, and that really undermines any flow the story may have had. It's something of a rough read but it's also a fascinating look into how folks played characters and wrote for the Forgotten Realms back in those days.
September 22, 2008
Much like Terry Brooks's Shannara series, these books, as crappy as they are, were formative fantasy books for me. My cousin gave them to me to read when I was nine, and I thought they were AMAZING.
Completely don't hold up on a reread at all, so I choose to enjoy the memory instead. And they did push me forward on the path of being a fantasy addict.
Completely don't hold up on a reread at all, so I choose to enjoy the memory instead. And they did push me forward on the path of being a fantasy addict.
April 17, 2016
This was admittedly less bad than the other two. Some parts, like Listle's story, were actually interesting. However, just because ut made me go through the ennui of the first and THE HELL of the second book, I'll say nah.
August 21, 2011
Not sure if this was based on the computer game, or if it was the other way around.
September 1, 2016
Sometimes you just want to read some crap. This one was not as good as the previous crap in the series though.
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