Review: The Reaver by Richard Lee Byers

The Reaver is a standalone book by Richard Lee Byers set in the Forgotten Realms during the events of The Sundering, when the cosmology got smacked around and gods were reborn and many changes brought by the Spellplague were brought back.

The Reaver is technically book four of The Sundering book series, but they’re all effectively standalone, though one character from The Reaver makes a cameo in the fifth book, The Sentinel by Troy Denning. And technically Stedd first appeared in book 3, The Adversary, but that was just a small introduction to him. The whole Sundering series is one of the few Forgotten Realms books you’ll find at Barnes and Noble these days.

The Reaver introduces us to some pirates of the Sea of Fallen Stars somewhere near the city of Teziir on the Dragon Coast. The Inner Sea has been wracked with endless storms in this time of upheaval. Our main characters are Anton Marivaldi who is a “renowned reaver with a insatiable thirst for bounty who, when it comes to a choice between two evils, always chooses the one he’s never tried” as the back of the book tells us. He is originally from Turmish

“When the tempest is born,

As Storm-tossed waters rise uncaring,

The promised hope still shines.

And the Reaver beholds 

The Dawn-born chosen’s gaze,

Transforming the darkness into light”

So prophesied Elliandreth of Orishaar in the days of the First Sundering aeons before.

Evendur Highcastle, is an undead pirate captain, and chosen of Umberlee, who is the Queen of the Depths, evil sea goddess often fittingly called The Bitch Queen, funnily enough, who is after a perpetual tempest to cover the seas. 

“[V]ying with high castle for the hearts and minds of the people is Stedd Whitehorn, a little boy and the chosen of a god thought lost to time: Lathander, the Morninglord”, the god of the Dawn.

Umara Ankhlab is a red wizard of Thay, in service to a vampire and sent as sent by the undead ruler of Thay, the lich Szass Tam. 

The year is 1486 DR, so just a few years before most fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adventures. Byers really makes the setting come to life, and it was interesting following someone of a more wicked bend. When finally getting a grasp of the situation in chapter one, Byers throws a wrench in.

We have pirates, vampires, chosen of the gods (alive and dead), sea monsters, gangs, and celestials, 

Byers writing is nice though often over my head, he utilizes many words I’ve never heard before, in all his works. These words aren’t literary or archaic generally either, just very particular. 

An interesting relationship develops in the book, one I wasn’t expecting. I always appreciate an unlikely friendship. While the story itself is good I was largely not drawn in and left disappointed by that. I found it Acceptable. I leave it up to you to decide if you may like it.

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: The Godborn by Paul S. Kemp

The Godborn is the second book of The Sundering, the cosmological, world shaking series that brought Realms lore from fourth edition to fifth edition. It is also the final iteration of The Legend of Erevis Cale (I may have made that up), being a sequel to the Twilight War Trilogy. This is my fourth review for The Sundering, and you can read my thoughts for the others at these links: The Adversary, The Sentinel, The Herald.

The only two I have yet to read now are the first and fourth in the series. The Companions is also the 30th novel in the Legend of Drizzt; I have only read the first ten so far. The Reaver I will read soon.

Naturally, being a sequel to the previous Erevis Cales series, do expect spoilers if you have not read them. This book does work as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend reading the previous books beforehand.

“When the shadows descend,

In Hell-sworn covenant unswerving

The blighted brothers hunt,

And the godborn appears,

In rose-blessed abbey reared,

Arising to loose the godly spark.”

- Excerpt of a prophecy by Elliandreth of Orishaar

The prologue takes us to 1450 DR, Varra has been transported through time seventy years. She finds that her previously flat belly is now bulging with a presently due baby. She is found by warriors of Amaunator/Lathander who take her to the local abbey where her son, Vasen is born, destined to be a shadow in the light. I really enjoyed this prologue, and while not his best, Kemp is a master of drawing the reader in a dark and awesome world. 

Sembia is a protectorate of Netheril, and dark clouds cover the land, twisting and fouling it. Aberrations wander the shadowed land, tainted rain kills and twist crops and vegetation. People hold onto hope that one day the Sun will shine on the land again. Though not all hope is good, some of it is evil, and other nihilistic.

“A light in the darkness”

Zeeahd and Sayeed are an interesting duo introduced early on. They are brothers afflicted by the Spellplague and they search for the abbey where Vasen makes his home so they can be healed of their afflictions. Though of course there are other things about the two. There is a deva character, a kind of aasimar (like the one in Circle of Skulls, book six of Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep).

We also have Riven who was great to see again. It's been a hundred years, and he has lived with divinity all that time. He meets up with Mags early on, the tiefling mind mage who set up shop as a tavern owner in Derlun after the Spellplague. 

Brennus and Rivalen Tanthul also have an interesting dynamic, brothers; one semi-divine, the other full of hate for the murderer of his mother. I really enjoyed how this played out.

“He existed in the nexus of light and shadow, a creature of both, but a servant of only one.”

This has easily been the most disturbing D&D book I’ve read. Some parts were horrifying and disgusting, though thankfully this is only for a small section in the middle of the book. I'm also sort of a wimp, but it did affect my overall thoughts.

The Godborn is Exceptional, though this helped a lot by the last 50 pages.

I feel this could have been helped by being a trilogy instead of a single book slightly longer than average. There was in-fact supposed to be a trilogy, The Cycle of Night, but Wizards of the Coast axed it and we got The Godborn instead. From Cale’s first appearance in 2000 in The Halls if Stormweather to 2014 with The Godborn, this is finally the end of the dark tale. It’s sad, I can’t believe it’s over. This series alone has made reading Forgotten Realms novels worth it, we will see what other great novels are in store on this quest.

"Ages turn, the work changes, but there is always horror"

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: The Herald by Ed Greenwood

While before I said I had reviewed everything I had started before beginning the challenge of reading all Forgotten Realms’ novels, I knew I would not get to all The Sundering books for a long time, because of how some of the books fall late into other series I have only just started. I changed my mine with The Sentinel, and I already reviewed The Adversary as part of the Brimstone Angels series. Well the other book I’ve read is book six of The Sundering, The Herald by Ed Greenwood. I will start this by all the books I should have read before I read this book. For plot, read The Return of the Archwizards trilogy by Troy Denning, and The Last Mythal trilogy by Richard Baker. If you want to understand the characters I would read all the Elminster books that take place before this one, which would be all of them with the exception of Spellstorm and Death Masks, particularly The Elminster series, and the Sage of Shadowdale trilogy.

    Now sadly this review will not be as detailed since I read The Herald back in 2018. The story follows Elminster and his great, great granddaughter, Amarune. They are facing the Shadovar of Thultanthar, returned Netheril. Most of this book takes place in the repopulated Myth Drannor, the greatest of the elven cities that has been in ruins for centuries, though was resettled after the Spellplague.

    We follow a couple Princes of Shade as they go about destroying baelnorns, a type of guardian-elf-lich. We also see some of the Seven Sisters who help Elminster in defending the city as the elves flee to safety. Larloch is in this tale, along with The Shrinshee as well; over all, there are lots of powerful mages.

    If I am remembering correctly, there were some odd scenes with Manshoon in Suzail that were completely lost on me. If I had read the previous books I likely would have understand the purpose these scenes were suppose to serve. I also was not use to Greenwood's writing style and though now I am a fan it definitely takes some getting used to.

    For it's spot in The Sundering, it has the most resolution for the events as a whole, hence why it is the last in the series. While my experience at the time was not the most enjoyable, it was not bad, and knowing what I know now, I look back on the book with more fondness. So don't start here, but when you get here, I think you'll be with me in finding the book Good.

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: The Sentinel by Troy Denning

My second Realms novel by Denning, after Faces Of Deception from the Lost Empire Series. I’ve read some of Denning’s books outside of the Forgotten Realms and I know he can craft a decent tale so I looked forward to this one. The Sentinel is book five of The Sundering, the bridge series of Fourth Editon to Fifth Edition lore. I’ve already read books three and six, and it is currently the only series I can not finish that I’ve already started. This is because book one is also book thirty-one of the Legend of Drizzt and I’m only on book elven. Book two of The Sundering is the last novel of the whole Erevis Cale story, and I have not yet read the Twilight War Trilogy.

So I found The Sentinel (published 2014) at a used bookstore and I felt this would be a good standalone novel to throw in between finishing some series. It mainly caught my eye because it was a book closer to the current timeline with 5e and because it starts in Marsember, Cormyr. I’m a sucker for the Forest Kingdom.

Book blurb:

"Embittered paladin Kleef Kenric is on a quest to stop evil forces from taking advantage of the chaos rolling across the land of Faerûn and claiming dominion over the entirety of the Realms.

Stubbornly clinging to his family's worship of a long-forgotten god, Kleef Kenric soon discovers that his god has blessed him with divine gifts, making him one of a new group of Chosen cropping up around the Realms. This divine gift makes him an excellent ally—and a target for those who wish corral his powers.

After battling his way out Marsember, a city besieged on all sides in the wake of the Sundering, he becomes swept up in the mission of a group of odd allies—a warrior noblewoman, an accomplished thief, and a mysterious short pudgy man exuding a faint odor of decay. With the forces of Shade tracking their every step, they travel to the Underdark to thwart the rise of the goddess of Death, but before long Kleef learns that his allies hide dangerous secrets—secrets that could destroy not only Kleef but the very fabric of the Forgotten Realms."

The story starts as Kleef Kenric is on the job as a member of the Marsember City Watch, the city is evacuating under threat from Shadovar. The year is 1486 DR. Kleef’s family has long worshipped Helm, whom has been dead since 1384 DR. The family even kept a great sword enchanted to be as light as a dagger when wielded by a Kenric, its name is Watcher, and the agate in the cross guard is Helm's Eye. 

We are then introduced to Lady Arietta Seasilver, a Chosen of Siamorphe, the goddess of nobility —coincidentally my latest character is a Paladin of Siamorphe and from Battlerise in Cormyr. While her family decides to flea across the Dragonmere to Elversult, she decides to do her duty as a member of the nobility and face the Netherese. 

We also have a chosen of Sune, goddess of love; a supposed chosen of Myrkul, a god of of the dead; and a Prince of Shade. Throw in a magical relic, the Eye of Gruumsh, and we have a fun adventurer on our hands on both land, sea, and earthmotes

Faerûn as it is during the Second Sundering, cartographer Mike Schley

While most of the cast is new and unique to The Sentinel, two characters are not. The first character is from some of Denning's older Realms novels: The Avatar Series, and Return of the Archwizards. Since those take place before the events of The Sentinel, some of you may find reading those before The Sentinel more to your liking. The second character has a smaller role, but was a character that played a small part in The Reaver, book four of The Sundering.

The character work is decent. While we see Kleef's personality at first he later turns into a bland sword for a chunk of the story, though he comes through in the end. Joelle slowly becomes more interesting as we learn more about her. Arietta has some interesting ticks and has good growth for the last hundred pages. 

Since this is The Sundering, be prepared for talks of gods, primordials, returned Netheril, and the changing cosmology that is coming to a fast conclusion. This for the most part was okay by me, though it was a little surprising how almost completely inept the shades were against our protagonists. 

The story pulled me in for the last third, and I really enjoyed the ending; it even managed to be surprising. I liked this book, but not as much as I would have to start. It sort of reminded me of The Nether Scroll of The Lost Empires series. The Sentinel is Acceptable, filling a snug spot in The Sundering Series that brought us to Fifth Edition. Now if we could get more stories in the Forgotten Realms, I'd like to see Denning return to them.

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You can track my current progress here.

Completed Series: Brimstone Angels by Erin M. Evans

This is the first in a series of post that cover the Forgotten Realms series that I have read all of the novels in.

I will give the books and whole series a grade but it is not empirical, but is based off feelings at the time I read the books and how I feel now. The ratings do not have specific qualities that mark them, they are just descriptive words. Here they are for your reference from worse to best.

Ugly

Bad

Poor

Mediocre 

Acceptable

Good

Exceptional

Amazing

Brimstone Angels by Erin M. Evans is the first series of Dungeons & Dragons novels I ever read. This was from the end of August to the middle of September 2017 when I read all six in that two week period. At the time I had never played D&D, though I had played other TTRPG's, Brimstone Angels was a strong factor for my later start of playing of the game.

The books are such:

Brimstone Angels (2011) - Acceptable

Brimstone Angels: Lesser Evils (2012) - Good

The Adversary (2013) - Good

Fire In the Blood (2014) - Good

Ashes of the Tyrant (2015) - Good

The Devil You Know (2016) - Good

My first impression was that it was fun but a little slow. It slogged a bit because of strong usage of lore.  This changed drastically during Lesser Evils as the story got more exciting when the Harpers went to search for the library of the netherese Tarchamus the Untielding. From there  I flew through most of the books. There is a decent focus on relationships, which range from okay to a little annoying, but that takes a backseat from the great action and the unfolding storyline involving devils, gods, warlocks, and politics.

Farideh and Havilar are easy to relate too, and a fun set of twins. This is probably is heightened because I myself am a twin and am relatively their age. There story takes them from Neverwinter to Waterdeep, to Suzail, to Djerad Thymer and to lost libraries and secreted Netherese fortresses. The cast of characters, from the Zhentarim, Harpers, nobility of Cormyr, devils of Malbolge to the devoted of deities is very rounded and likable, even when they aren’t necessarily of good alignment.

Farideh is the main character and at the start of the story she makes a pact with a cambion which results in exile for her glaive wielding twin sister, Havilar, and her adoptive dragonborn father, Mehen. Ilstan, Dahl, Tam, and Lorcan are among the most memorable support characters.

Book 3 is also book 3 for The Sundering, and I feel it fits in pretty well. It did not seem forced to me, while some things in books five and six maybe could have been condensed.

Lore wise, I gained quite a bit of knowledge about Cormyrean politics, the denizens and hierarchy of the Nine Hells, a plethora of draconic curses, tiefling types, and a nice guide to deities statuses during the Second Sundering.

A note for those who wish to own books physically (like myself), the first and second books are generally quite expensive though 3-6 can be found easily at reasonable prices.

Overall the consistent quality of the books makes me say that Brimstone Angels is: Exceptional.
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You can track my current progress here.