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monicakessler's review
4.0
I picked up this book in a charity shop for the sole reason that it's based on a campaign game that is mentioned in Ready Player One. As it's part of a game-to-book series, I wasn't expecting anything particularly groundbreaking. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually a pretty good book! More fool me for “looking down on” books in game related series where each book is penned by a different author; they can still have literary merit.
Overall it was a fun “quest” fantasy. The characters were interesting and the MC had a better character arc than in some much more “highly regarded” literary fiction I've come across. The plot was nothing majorly ground breaking or surprising, but there were definitely some great action scenes and good character death build-ups etc. Although it sometimes felt surprisingly slow for a book which was so action-heavy, I did rather enjoy the ride. No, I would not really want to read it again but I think Keith Francis Strohm should be given more credit for writing a well-rounded novel to match this game. Not that I've ever played the game lol.
The one thing that irked me (only slightly) was that common fantasy / fanfic -esque tendency of calling characters by a characteristic rather than a name or pronoun. E.g., “the mage did X” or “the blond did Y”. You know what I mean? You never seem to find this in published fiction usually – somehow – and yet it's so prevalent in online works. So it was a little weird to experience that in a book. But overall, not particularly jarring.
I also wasn't expecting religion to get the pedestal it receives in this story; aka magic trumps combat, but religion trumps magic. It was interesting though!
To amend my dodgy rating system where nearly everything I read is 4.25* (thanks Jenny), I'm now using the CAWPILE rating system to determine a fairer score for my books and also enable readers to see why they score in such a way.
Characters: 6/10 (characters weren't complete 2D cutouts for the most part but only the MC was fully fleshed out)
Atmosphere: 8/10 actually pretty good on this front
Writing: 7/10 not bad, literally just that fanfic descriptor thing and some cheesy villain writing
Plot: 7/10 standard quest with basic disturbances along the way
Intrigue: 7/10 although you kind of knew how things mostly would pan out, there was good intrigue built about what secret from his past the MC was hiding from his crew
Logic: 8/10 solid, in world logic
Enjoyment: 8/10
CAWPILE average: 7.29/10
= 3.6* on goodreads, so my original 3.75 guess was pretty close to the mark!
_________
Surprising 3.75* RTC
Overall it was a fun “quest” fantasy. The characters were interesting and the MC had a better character arc than in some much more “highly regarded” literary fiction I've come across. The plot was nothing majorly ground breaking or surprising, but there were definitely some great action scenes and good character death build-ups etc. Although it sometimes felt surprisingly slow for a book which was so action-heavy, I did rather enjoy the ride. No, I would not really want to read it again but I think Keith Francis Strohm should be given more credit for writing a well-rounded novel to match this game. Not that I've ever played the game lol.
The one thing that irked me (only slightly) was that common fantasy / fanfic -esque tendency of calling characters by a characteristic rather than a name or pronoun. E.g., “the mage did X” or “the blond did Y”. You know what I mean? You never seem to find this in published fiction usually – somehow – and yet it's so prevalent in online works. So it was a little weird to experience that in a book. But overall, not particularly jarring.
I also wasn't expecting religion to get the pedestal it receives in this story; aka magic trumps combat, but religion trumps magic. It was interesting though!
To amend my dodgy rating system where nearly everything I read is 4.25* (thanks Jenny), I'm now using the CAWPILE rating system to determine a fairer score for my books and also enable readers to see why they score in such a way.
Characters: 6/10 (characters weren't complete 2D cutouts for the most part but only the MC was fully fleshed out)
Atmosphere: 8/10 actually pretty good on this front
Writing: 7/10 not bad, literally just that fanfic descriptor thing and some cheesy villain writing
Plot: 7/10 standard quest with basic disturbances along the way
Intrigue: 7/10 although you kind of knew how things mostly would pan out, there was good intrigue built about what secret from his past the MC was hiding from his crew
Logic: 8/10 solid, in world logic
Enjoyment: 8/10
CAWPILE average: 7.29/10
= 3.6* on goodreads, so my original 3.75 guess was pretty close to the mark!
_________
Surprising 3.75* RTC
frakalot's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Definitely a stand out in the Greyhawk Classics series. We skip over the standard recruitment drive in a local tavern, to instead meet our party partially formed and already adventuring. Afterwards they team up with some local noble and set up a massive caravan of heroes and guards, to take on a quest that leads them into the Tomb of Acererak. I liked this approach and the characters were all very quickly likeable.
The descriptive writing for the environment was generally sensational and made each setting instantly palpable for me. I actually had a good sense of the map in my head for once too. The descriptions of people and emotions were less appealing, sometimes plain but other times clever.
Our band of heroes are not the only ones seeking access to the Tomb, the dark cleric Durgoth leads a cohort of Tharizdun cultists with plans to awaken their imprisoned god. As evil plans go, Durgoth teams up with a local thieves guild but even this union is doomed with separate objectives.
After the failure of a surprise attack by Durgoth's minions, the "evil genius" thinks up a cunning plan which is supposedly as evil as the dark lord himself, but it is exceedingly obvious and Frankly rather lazy. Think about the scenario and see if you can guess it, I guessed it. Durgoth announces the plan only a few pages later. It's sort of the classic Indiana Jones set up.
Durgoth is unjustifiably self-assured so damn frequently that it actually started to become annoying and I don't mean unjustifiable in the sense that we know the good guys will win, much more simply he congratulates himself for the brilliance of his own plan based on nothing, no evidence, no reason. It's barely a plan really.
But don't get me wrong, I thought the idea of shadowing the main party was a good move.
I noticed other little inconsistencies throughout, the following is just one example that I jotted down but there were many before and after it. The sorceress Sydra was performing a ritual and we read Durgoth thinking to himself that he didn't care much for the details, that he only wanted to see the outcome. Only a page or two later we catch Durgoth "staring at the arcane display with great interest".
Although it's handled a bit plainly, it was nice to have a character dealing with a sort of fall from grace background and overcoming alcohol dependence. The power of friendship and other "nice" themes are prevalent in this redemption arc.
As noted in other reviews, the ending is quite abrupt but I didn't see anyone else comment on just how brutal it is. It's a short but sweet end to this adventure.
The descriptive writing for the environment was generally sensational and made each setting instantly palpable for me. I actually had a good sense of the map in my head for once too. The descriptions of people and emotions were less appealing, sometimes plain but other times clever.
Our band of heroes are not the only ones seeking access to the Tomb, the dark cleric Durgoth leads a cohort of Tharizdun cultists with plans to awaken their imprisoned god. As evil plans go, Durgoth teams up with a local thieves guild but even this union is doomed with separate objectives.
After the failure of a surprise attack by Durgoth's minions, the "evil genius" thinks up a cunning plan which is supposedly as evil as the dark lord himself, but it is exceedingly obvious and Frankly rather lazy. Think about the scenario and see if you can guess it, I guessed it. Durgoth announces the plan only a few pages later. It's sort of the classic Indiana Jones set up.
Durgoth is unjustifiably self-assured so damn frequently that it actually started to become annoying and I don't mean unjustifiable in the sense that we know the good guys will win, much more simply he congratulates himself for the brilliance of his own plan based on nothing, no evidence, no reason. It's barely a plan really.
But don't get me wrong, I thought the idea of shadowing the main party was a good move.
I noticed other little inconsistencies throughout, the following is just one example that I jotted down but there were many before and after it. The sorceress Sydra was performing a ritual and we read Durgoth thinking to himself that he didn't care much for the details, that he only wanted to see the outcome. Only a page or two later we catch Durgoth "staring at the arcane display with great interest".
Although it's handled a bit plainly, it was nice to have a character dealing with a sort of fall from grace background and overcoming alcohol dependence. The power of friendship and other "nice" themes are prevalent in this redemption arc.
As noted in other reviews, the ending is quite abrupt but I didn't see anyone else comment on just how brutal it is. It's a short but sweet end to this adventure.
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