The City of Splendors by Ed Greenwood & Elaine Cunningham
The City of Splendors is very different from Wizards of the Coast's usual fare. In fact, it's even unusual for The Forgotten Realms, and that's saying something.
The story almost seems to have no main character, no central conflict, and no central motivation. It revolves around many characters who live their lives in Waterdeep, also known as the City of Splendors due to its astonishing beauty and variety. The interconnectedness of the central characters and the way that they interact with each other and the city that surrounds them (both the actual city and its citizens) is so cleverly written that the reader is never sure just what might happen next.
As with any sword and sorcery novel, there is the usual blood-letting, magic-hurling, rescuing damsels in distress ... Read More
Rogue Angel: Destiny by Alex Archer
I have a soft spot for archaeological/historical mysteries and thrillers. The subgenre is extremely glutted with dreck, though, as a result of the huge popularity of The Da Vinci Code. I'm not much of a Da Vinci Code fan, but I've liked some of the novels that followed in its wake, so I'm often willing to give this type of book a chance even though I'm seldom satisfied. I ordered Destiny in the hopes that it would be one of the good ones. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.
Destiny begins with a prologue set during Joan of Arc's execution. In the novel, Joan has two men sworn to guard and serve her. They rush to her side at the end but are unable to do anything to save her. Oddly, Alex Archer does a lot of verbal gymnastics in this scene to avoid using Joan's name. She's always "the maiden" or ... Read More
More books by Mel Odom
The Rover — (2001-2007) Publisher: Edgewick Lamplighter (Wick to his friends) is a humble librarian in the isolated halls of Greydawn Moors until dreams of wanderlust and a bit of dereliction in his duties result in his being shanghaied to a far-off land. Captured by pirates, sold into slavery, and adopted by a gang of thieves, Wick soon finds himself with more adventures than even a halfling librarian can imagine. Rival gangs, goblin marauders, evil wizards, and monstrous dragons are soon after the wee adventurer and his new found allies in a tale of treasures and treachery, magic and mystery where even a little guy can rise to the occasion and save the day.
The Quest for the Trilogy — (2008) Publisher: Young halfer Juhg, the new master librarian, is still growing into his job as Grandmagister when an ally from the past returns. The wizened wizard Craugh bears warnings of an ancient threat that may resurface, the so-called “Kharrion’s Wrath,” which endangers the existence of the world. Juhg must unlock the secrets contained in the journals of his absent mentor Wick, the former Grandmagister and legendary hero known as “the Rover.” He must also continue the Rover’s documented but clandestine search for a trilogy of books, which brings Juhg through many different realms of their very dangerous world… and into conflict and contact with other races (elves, dwarves, and men) whose fates are all intertwined among the pages of the great book of Time. The first stop on this quest is the realm of dwarfs. Juhg and his companions must secure possession of the legendary battleaxe Boneslicer before it falls into the hands of their darkest of foes.
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(1957- )
