Review: The Parched Sea by Troy Denning

In 1991 Troy Denning introduced the monstrous series of The Harpers. They're largely standalone or have internal arcs, so you have no need to read 1-16 like it is The Wheel of Time. The first of these is The Parched Sea which introduces Ruha, whom Denning would use in more of his Forgotten Realms novels, including The Parched Sea's sequel, The Veiled Dragon, book five of the Avatar series, Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad, as well as in The Return of the Archwizards trilogy. You can listen to my thoughts here.

Ruha is newly married and is adjusting to her life with a new tribe, the Qahtan of the Bedine in Anauroch desert. She keeps secret her portentous visions so the Qahtan will not think she is a witch. In reality she does know some magic which she learned from a witch who raised her for some of her childhood. 

Her call to adventure comes when her new husband, Ajaman, is given night guard duty. Disaster strikes the Qahtan, and Ruha finds her life upheaved. 

Lander, a Harper from Sembia, is in Anauroch to follow the moves of the Zhentarim. He will become important to this stage of Ruha's life. The year is 1360 DR, a couple years after the Time of Troubles. Cyric is presently God of three domains, and his Bedine aspect is Naser. 

The novel itself is pretty predictable. The Bedines are obviously inspired by the Bedouins. They don’t like magic since greedy magic users are what made the desert in the first place, at least in part (see the history of Netheril). The big theme is prejudice and finding belonging while fighting foreign interlopers. 

The desert setting is cool, I don’t read too many in such a biome. I wish Ruha was more of the main character over Lander, she was much more interesting, and Lander takes some of the attention away from her.

There is some romance here and is not the worst thing I have read by Denning. If I were you, I might skip this novel since there are better ones worth reading unless something here makes you think you would enjoy it or you are a completionist like I am. Regardless, my next review will be for the sequel, The Veiled Dragon.

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What if Drizzt Was Written by Someone Other Than R. A. Salvatore?

Happy Day of Might to any that observe!

The title says it all: what if Drizzt had been written by someone else, specifically after the series had several entries and was popular? Shores of Dusk by Mark Anthony was not meant to be. The novel was written, and ads had appeared for it, but it has never seen the light of day and likely never will. I won't spoil the whole thing for you, but will show you to a write-up written by Anthony about the doomed novel. I was made aware of it by this recent Facebook post.

It is interesting to contemplate the direction Drizzt could have taken if Salvatore had actually hung up his hat. I have not read Realms of the Underdark and can't guess at how well Anthony may or may not have done. What do you think?

Here it is and amarast!:

News: Another Novel is Coming

 On October 11, 2023 a new Forgotten Realms novel was announced. It is Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin by Jaleigh Johnson. It is set to be released on March 5, 2024. See the listing here. 

Here is the blurb:

Meet the newest Dungeons & Dragons party in the first epic adventure of The Fallbacks. To become renowned adventurers, this party needs to survive their first job. Tessalynde is an ambitious young rogue who dreams of leading Faerûn’s foremost adventuring party. While the crew she’s gathered isn’t the stuff of legend yet, she’s confident her guidance can get them there. The team: Anson, a fighter too stubborn to stay down, even when the odds are stacked against him. Cazrin, a self-taught wizard determined to test her theoretical mettle against the real world. Baldric, a cleric who refuses to tie himself to a single deity when he can trade favors with them all. Lark, a bard with as many secrets as songs. And, of course, Uggie, a monstrous pet otyugh who loves giving hugs and eating trash. Their first job: recovering a mysterious spellbook from a lost temple for a hefty payout. Tess hopes this assignment can turn her group of fledgling freelancers into a true team. But when their client is killed, their coin and his murderer both vanish, leaving the party to take the fall. Stuck with a sentient, bloodthirsty grimoire and pursued by mercenaries and the undead, this is hardly the mission Tess envisioned. Her crew must save the day, get the gold, and clear the party’s name—which they haven’t even agreed upon yet! With the threats against them mounting, a single mistake will see this party over before it even begins. Can this band of mismatched misfits stay together in the face of danger? Or are they bound for ruin?

As has been discussed previously, the novel line ended in 2016. Since then any publication has been through third party publishers, and has drastically limited the number of releases. We have gotten several Drizzt books, because of their continued popularity. We also have gotten the two Honor Among Thieves novels, of which Johnson wrote one: The Road to Neverwinter. That is it.

From the Realms novels I have read by Johnson, I'm not super excited. While not a bad writer, the new Realms feeling comes from a place of unsympathetic corporate overlords. I want the Forgotten Realms logo. I want Elminster or something recognizable beyond Sword Coast props. I will still read the novel to let you know if it is worth reading, but looking at the blurb, maybe cozy fantasy fans (or comedy) rather than heroic fantasy fans should note this announcement. I will remain cautiously optimistic and hope that since Johnson is somewhat of a Realms veteran that we will get more from someone like Greenwood, Cunningham, Kemp, or others some day.

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You can track my current progress here.

Community Spotlight: Religion in the Realms

 It is time to put another spotlight on the great Forgotten Realms community. This time we are looking at another podcast, this one sharing indispensable knowledge and lore. Those familiar with D&D in general and the Realms specifically will know that gods and goddesses do exist, it's not a question like it is in our world. They commune with their churches and give spells to their followers. 

BUT there are a lot of these deities. Religion in the Realms has you covered. The podcast started with going over the Pantheons themselves and the latest episode is about Loviatar, the maiden of pain. I highly recommend going through any of these that may pertain to a session you are planning or a character you are building. I even went through Kelemvor's for this post.

You can find the podcast in the usual places, they are all linked here. Follow the podcast to keep up to date on what's next on Twitter as well.

Amarast!

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: Law & Order by Dave Gross

 Law & Order is another tie-in to the Baldur's Gate games. This one is specifically about the early years of Rasaad yn Bashir in Calimport. I have previously reviewed Baldur's Gate short stories, I link them all here. Read this story on page 188-202 here.

The story is divided into two parts, Fishing and The Path to Light. Rasaad and his brother Gamaz are fishing, which is their euphemism for being pickpockets. They want gold fish, but also will take copper and silver, it's cheeky. After a close encounter with a Sharan, the brothers decide to team up to fill their empty stomachs. They then encounter a Sun Soul monk, a man from out of town. Rasaad is only eight years old, but his quick hands make him good at his job. On the other hand, he can't lie any more than a dwarf could pass for a gnome. 

Part two continues the story, so I will be vague. Rasaad is now fifteen years old. This continues the brother's lessons and their camaraderie increases. I read this on a rainy day and it seemed perfect for me. It is an Exceptional story if a simple one. 

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: Sandstorm by Christopher Rowe

Sandstorm is one of those odd standalone novels not incorporated into a series like Lost Empires or Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep. It was released in 2011 and was Christopher Rowe's first novel. I actually have chatted with Rowe briefly online, and realizing he had written a Realms novel pushed this one up my list.

This is the Fourth Edition of Forgotten Realms, so it's weird. That doesn't count it out as a good time, I enjoyed Brimstone Angels and Venom in Her Veins, and those are also during the Era of Upheaval. This one takes place in Calimshan, and fans of the desert kingdom south of Tethyr and Amn and across the water from Chult may want to give it a whirl.

Calimport is way less glorious after the Spellplague, though it was always tainted by its slave trade. Slavery is one theme of this book, and we are introduced to gladiatorial games on an earthmote, that is a floating piece of earth. It starts with a bang, a duel between a gladiator and a great tentacled cat. You often don't get covers showcasing events from the start of the book, but this is an exception. It's also notable because Raymond Swanland makes such good art.

Along with this cover, it has a sword & sorcery feel at the start. The magic is also less gamey and feels tad more authentic than in some other Realms novels.

Cephas is a gladiator slave on the earthmote. He seemingly tries to escape from just about every bout he is in; though he is a good fighter he longs for freedom. He has some innate connection to the earth and this relationship is explained once he goes on his journey.

Corvus Nightfeather is a Kenku assassin and a carnie of sorts for the Circus of Wonders. He is not the main character but stands out as unique and as my favorite. Along with a Kenku, you also get some other races that have populated D&D for the last decade or more. Things like Goliaths and Genasi, the latter being integral to the story. The story explores Genasi having two or more elemental aspects regardless of their birth element. For example, can air Genasi also acquire the fire aspect? This ties into a theme of identity and family, particularly the found family trope.

Lastly, Rowe makes good use of epigraphs from in-world texts. I am a big fan of this method, and seeing it in the Forgotten Realms is very fun. That being said, I did not enjoy this one too much, but I feel I could have put more effort into reading it. I think I will reread it at some point, it is very short. As of now, I'll give my arbitrary rating of Acceptable.

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You can track my current progress here.

Pages Behind the Pixels: Baldur's Gate and the Accompanying Fiction

 Baldur's Gate is a popular series of video games produced by BioWare. The first released in 1998 and was followed by a sequel, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn in 2000. A spin-off series, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance followed in 2001 with a sequel in 2004. The latter were produced by Snowblind Studios and Black Isle Studios, respectively. Many years later, in 2023, Larian would produced Baldur's Gate III to critical acclaim.

These games brought to life the Forgotten Realms in ways previously tapped into by games like the old Gold Box series or The Eye of the Beholder series. I will talk about those in different articles, but today I want to make people aware of the fiction that ties into the Baldur's Gate series of games. This is for fans both old and new!

Baldur's Gate was novelized the year following its release. This novelization was done by Philip Athans, and Baldur's Gate II got a similar treatment. There was even a third novel for the second game's expansion, Throne of Bhaal written by Drew Karpyshyn. 

Sadly, the novel line was ended in several years ago, so beyond the occasional release of a Drizzt novel or the movie tie-in, we don't get any novels. Many fans believe a tie-in to the new game would make a lot of sense, too bad we don't have any sway at Wizards of the Coast.

However, there is more than just these three novels. While Dark Alliance never got blessed with any fiction, there are a number of short stories that deal tangentially with the story of the Baldur's Gate games. These are as follows: 

"Final Exam" by Dave Gross (read on page 317 here)

"Unburdened" by Dave Gross (read it here)

"Best Friends" by Dave Gross (read on page 324 here)

"Rancor" by Dave Gross (read on page 89 here)

"Law and Order" by Dave Gross (read on page 188 here)

(These next three specifically tie into the first game's expansion, Siege of Dragonspear)

"Amulet Fellow and the Regal Rose/Glint's Story" by Andrew Foley (read on page 17 here)

"Den of Chaos" by Amber Scott (read here)

"Dangerous World" by Andrew Foley (read here)

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You can track my current progress here.