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Saturday, February 27, 2021

Review: Venom in Her Veins by Tim Pratt

 Venom in Her Veins is a standalone novel from early 2012. It is written by Tim Pratt and is the only work of his set in the Forgotten Realms. As a novel from the Fourth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, it takes place after the Spellplague and before the Second Sundering, meaning the world is not as it is in most other novels. Though it doesn't state what year the book takes place, most 4e books and supplements are set in 1479 DR.

In this case, we are introduced to a small clan of Yuan-ti in Southern Lluirwood on the border of Dambrath and Luiren, though at this point Luiren is under water and the closest city is Elzimmer, presently a coastal city. The first few chapters we follow a couple non-human viewpoints; specifically a yuan-ti abomination (mostly snake with a few humanoid features) priest of Zehir, and a caravan guard dragonborn. They are both involved with an infant yuan-ti pureblood (yuan-ti that looks very humanlike), Zaltys, our main character.

Fast forward and that infant is now almost seventeen: Zaltys stands out among humans because she has a small patch of scales, has bright green eyes (even as a baby) and is lacking a navel (since she was born from an egg). She is also the adopted daughter of Alaia Serrat, a member of the family who controls to the terazul plant which is used to make a powdery, potent drug.

Zaltys, a merchant princess and is Alaia's heir, will some day become the leader of the Travelers, one of the three branches that make the merchant family; the other two being Traders and Guardians. Among the caravan are notable employees: the dragonborn guard Krailash; the eladrin wizard Quelamia; and the Tiefling psionicist Glory. Zalty's cousin, Julen is also an important character in the story.

This tale includes facing derro in the Underdark, and battling denizens of the Far Realm. There is even mention made of the Living Gate. The Slime Clan is entertaining and even have a couple of surprises up their sleeves, for our characters and the reader. If you enjoy the debate of “evil” races being evil inherently vs upbringing, this has some good philosophy that gives thinking points for the non-argument. And of course, yuan-ti fans should read this.

The focus on family, a younger protagonist, and the Shining South makes this a fun coming-of-age novel that I would recommend in general. It's been a nice step up from the last several Realms novels I have read. Venom in Her Veins is Exceptional.

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You can track my current progress here.

3 comments:

  1. This book is the one I really wanted to add to my collection - but it’s very hard to find and it is also pretty expensive. How did you manage to get a copy? Great review, now I would like to read it even more :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This book is the one I really wanted to add to my collection - but it’s very hard to find and it is also pretty expensive. How did you manage to get a copy? Great review, now I would like to read it even more :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got mine on eBay for $33, which is the cheapest I've seen it for. eBay doesn't seem to have it very often, and Amazon's copies are insane. Often for the rarer Realms novels I check Book Outlet and Abe Books, and in this case Abe Books might be the place to look, I've seen some copies of Venom in Her Veins there for about $35. Good luck!

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