Possibly the ultimate in-character resource, written in a ‘future history’ style and with numerous extras, this is a treat for all Star Trek fans…

By Megan Robertson

Publisher’s blurb: “Assembled as a Special Exhibit on Memory Alpha, Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years celebrates the 150th anniversary of the founding of the United Federation of Planets.

“This unprecedented illustrated volume chronicles the pivotal era leading up to Humankind’s First Contact with Vulcan in 2063, the Romulan War in 2156, the creation of the Federation in 2161, and the first 150 years of the intergalactic democracy up until the year 2311. Meticulously researched, this account covers a multitude of alien species, decisive battles, and the technology that made the Age of Exploration possible. It includes field sketches, illustrations, and reproductions of historic pieces of art from across the Galaxy, along with over fifty excerpts from key Federation documents and correspondence, Starfleet records, and intergalactic intelligence.

“Housed in a pedestal display complete with lights and an audio introduction by Admiral Hikaru Sulu, this deluxe edition also features five removable documents from the Federation Archives, including Zefram Cochrane’s early sketch of the warp-drive engine, a handwritten letter from young Jim Kirk, and the first-known diagram of a Trill symbiont.”

Megan’s review

Have you ever wished that the United Federation of Planets was real and that you, too, could bodly go where no one has ever gone before?

You’re not alone. Watching the TV series and the films is not enough… sometimes even the role-playing games don’t quite hit the mark. This book might help.

Imagine, if you will, that you are rooting around in the library at Starfleet Academy, in the history section. In pride of place, on a fancy display stand, your eye is caught by a history of the Federation. You decide to pick it up and have a read…

That sounds like something I might say when running an RPG: this splendid resource makes it come to life, enabling you to enter that alternate reality that is Star Trek! For here is the history of the origins of the Federation written as history, just like any other popular history book you might have on your coffee table or your bookshelves.

Starting with Zefram Cochrane’s first warp drive test flight that led to First Contact with a passing Vulcan ship – and speaking of it as a familiar tale that you grew up on at that! – it reviews the sweep of history since then as Earth humans joined, and quickly assumed a leading role, in galactic civilisation. Much will be familiar to the enthusiast who enjoys everything that comes out about Star Trek, the real joy is in the interspersed images: copies of treaties, exerpts from Vulcan philosophy, from newspapers of the time, sketches of pivotal figures. It’s like a piece of future history fell back through a wormhole in time into your hands. Even the bibliography at the end is ‘in character’ with references to Memory Apha records and historical dissertations published in the 22nd century!

If that alone wasn’t enough, the rest of the package is pretty neat too. A blueprint of the USS Enterprise is maybe no surprise, most of us have assorted ‘technical manuals’ tucked away. But notes about warp drive scrawled by Cochrane himself on an envelope from the IRS? A note from a young Jim Kirk to his Mom? An anatomical diagram of a Trill, and a letter (in Trill script & translation) concerning doubts about revealing their symbiotic nature to the Federation in case they got upset about such a novel lifeform? These are things that those of us who would inhabit the alternate reality that is Star Trek can but dream of… and here they are, ready to be handled and passed around.

A particular gem is the author’s Addendum for the 75th Anniversary Edition… with some further events, more future history, enhancing the sense that this all happened and is continuing to happen, a nice touch!

Overall it is a beautifully-produced work, with a lot to offer the Star Trek enthusiast, something to treasure as you let your imagination boldly go…

For the role-player: Excellent background reading and fabulous props: there isn’t much more to be said. Whilst not particularly useful within the course of an actual game, it’s something keen players will want to study as they get inside their character’s head – perhaps a proud parent bought the book when they enrolled at the Academy!

Book Details:
Author: David A. Goodman
Publishers’ Reference:
ISBN: 978-1612184173
Hardback, 176 pages + extras and stand
Date: December 2012

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• Amazon.com (Book)
• Amazon UK (Book)

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By Paco Garcia Jaen

It is safe to say that Fighting Fantasy cemented a literary genre that had barely been explored in the past. The series of books took some experimental writings that toyed with the idea of letting the reader determine the course and, ultimately, the outcome of the story.

For a lot people, the Fighting Fantasy series of books were the first foray into Fantasy and an entry point to develop a passion for reading, but probably  none felt that passion as strongly as Jonathan Green, who, after the first spark of enthusiasm for the books, managed to become one of the outmost authorities in the subject, and, probably, the best writer since the original Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson.

Now, with a few books under his belt, Jonathan is trying to procure money to write YOU ARE THE HERO, a book about the story of Fighting Fantasy.

Since paying for something that hasn’t been written yet is something that shouldn’t be done lightly, I thought I’d ask Jonathan a few – some hard – questions to find out what the plan is and why he’s doing all this.

Hope you enjoy!

You are a very experienced writer with many titles on your portfolio. Why start this project? What do Fighting Fantasy books mean to you?

Fighting Fantasy gamebooks are the reason I’m writing today. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, when it was published in 1982, inspired me like no other book ever had and confirmed what I already knew – that I wanted to be a writer. I love the books with a passion and still love writing gamebooks today, despite having had fifteen novels published now.
I wrote a piece for SFX Magazine early in 2012 about the history of Fighting Fantasy and its legacy and realised that even after 7,000 words I had barely scratched the surface. That thought stayed with me and I continued interviewing the creators long after the piece was published until we come to this moment, when we’re halfway through the Kickstarter, with almost two thirds of the funds needed to produce the book raised.

Apart from your writing career, which is quite varied, what makes you the best person to write this book? Why should we trust you’ll come out with a great book?

Because I’ve had more than forty books published already, with another ten, or so, in the works. Because I’m passionate about gamebooks. Because I’ve written seven FF gamebooks myself and so have a unique insider’s view on the series. Because I’ve already interviewed a veritable host of people involved in the series or directly influenced by its impact. Because Steve Jackson himself once said to me, “You are the perfect person to write this book.” Will that do?

I think I’ll take that!
Even with your obvious passion of the subject, and considering how much they mean to a lot of people out there, how have you dealt with the pressure of going through this? There are lot of expectations!

The thing that’s been most stressful so far is managing the Kickstarter for a month. It just takes up so much time and nervous energy! I’m pleased that people have high expectations for YOU ARE THE HERO – so do I! I just want to get the chance to prove to people that I can meet them.

What do you think will make the story of these books so interesting?

People are always fascinated by the creative process; just look at all the ‘Making of…’ documentaries on DVDs. There are also some great stories surrounding FF, such as why the books run to 400 sections, or how Ian Livingstone’s newest gamebook Blood of the Zombies almost never happened. And Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone are great characters and fantastic after dinner speakers. So imagine that transferred into book form.

Without giving anything away, have you found something you really didn’t expect and have shocked or amazed you?

Well I knew quite a lot of the ‘gossip’ already. But that’s not to say I won’t find something else out before the project’s done.

What is the process behind the writing of this book?

I’ve already researched a great deal of the history of the series, right down to how individual books came to be written. I’ve interviewed many people involved already, but the next stage is to carry out more interviews. I’ve also gained the permission of various artists to have their work featured in the book but once funding is achieved I’ll be able to commission some brand new art for the book. I’m even talking to professors of game play to bring that side of things into the book.

Once all that’s in place, I just have to sit down and write the thing!

How much effort and time have gone into finding the right people for interviews and research? How did you know who were the right people?

Many of them are the writers and artists who created the books in the first place. The others are people in the business like me, who I already knew were big fans of the books. Others have come out of the woodwork, as it were, since they discovered I was working on this project. But arranging interviews and collating questions has certainly taken a lot of time.

£15000 sounds like a lot of money. How are you going to spend it?

It is a lot, but that’s because it costs a lot to publish a half decent book. And YOU ARE THE HERO is going to be way better than half decent. For a start, Kickstarter and Amazon take their cut, then I’ve got to pay the artists, pay to have some of the rewards made, pay to have the book printed and shipped… It all adds up. And £15,000 is the minimum I need to do this. If we can raise more the book will be even more amazing, with even more content.

How did your relationship with Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson start? By the way they called you to the stage at Dragonmeet, they seem to value you very highly!

I believe Ian (or it might have been Steve) read my sample proposal for Spellbreaker, my first published FF gamebook, but I didn’t have any direct contact with them until around 2006, when Wizard Books showed an interest in finally publishing my fourth FF book Bloodbones. And when I say ‘direct’, it was via email at first.

I met them in person some time after that – Ian first and then Steve – but the first time the three of us met together was at the UK Games Expo in 2010. They’ve both said very pleasing things about my work and it was wonderful went Ian said he was going to call me up to talk about YOU ARE THE HERO at the end of the FF seminar at Dragonmeet.

You have now written some adventure books and Fighting Fantasy books as well, how has that experience been as a writer, compared with writing “normal” stories?

Everything’s written in the second person present tense for a start. Character development has to be handled differently (and yes, there can still be character development). You have to write more concisely. You can’t easily include flashbacks or scenes from another character’s point of view. But then the great thing about writing a gamebook, as opposed to a novel, is that you can explore every narrative path you like, whereas in a novel you have to stick with just one and follow it through to its ultimate conclusion.

What is next for you after this project?

I always seem to have at least five or six projects on the go at anyone time. I’ve got more short stories to write, hopefully a new novel, but I’d actually like to try another Kickstarter too – this time to allow me to create a brand new gamebook based on a very well-known story…

And with that, my thanks to Jonathan for answering my questions. I really hope it will have inspired to take a look at the Kickstarter project page and, with a bit of luck, also to back this project.

Of course, if you read this in the future, head to your local book store and get a copy. It makes terrific reading!

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By Thilo Graf

This being a review of a novel from Rite Publishing, the following contains minor SPOILERS.

Sarvesh has an interesting job in what could be considered middle management – he has a dedicated cadre of trouble-solvers under his command. He enjoys a good drink in his favorite tavern with his best friend, flirting with the females. Sometimes, he has to deal with tensions in his troupe and solve minor racial issues and oftentimes, he is annoyed by his often choleric and none-too-smart boss. He is successful and good-looking and enjoys a good drink.

Sarvesh is just like you and me. And Sarvesh cleans himself by igniting his skin and his horns, wreathing them in flames. He stomps about his city on hooves, has massive wings and is essentially as demonic as one could imagine. he’s also the commander of the Twilight Guardians, a cadre of special enforcers that seek to keep the goblin, oroq and minotaur denizens of his home safe from incursions when not coordinating raids on dwarven ale-supplies. For Sarvesh lives in the legendary Twilight Dungeon: His best friend is a minotaur with relationship-problems, the female one of two drak-trapmasters (think kobolds) has a hopeless crush on him, there is a rather severe chance for a relationship with the sinuous medusa-wench and when he’s not being yelled at by his boss, babysitting the local (none-too-bright) ettin and finding things for the one clever goblin of the dungeon to do provide for a lot of tasks.

And then there is the constant resetting of traps, striking back of dwarven invasions and of course, the incursions of the most dangerous of all invaders to repel: Adventurers have traditionally often killed the de facto leader of the dungeon and are justly feared by the hodgepodge community of humanoids that live, love and yes, even cry. And especially the “demonic” protagonist Sarvesh is a compelling and somewhat mysterious character that comes off as a great catalyst to experience the world of the Twilight Dungeon.

Unfortunately, though, the narrative has two strands and while the denizens of the dungeons are depicted as sympathetic people (I especially like the pseudopod-studded, eyestalk-owning creature…), the adventurers (i.e. antagonists) are unfortunately rather bland.

MINOR SPOILERS.

We meet the adventurers while they are gleefully slaying a whole village of aforementioned draks, even slaying their unborn. Of course, these Draks were innocent farmers, leaving no doubt of the nefarious hypocrisy of the cavalier/leader/fanatic of the group. There’s also a gender-divide in the adventuring-group – the two females, the rough-and-tumble sorceress and the elven mystic are of course, from almost the first chapter they’re featured in against the heinous fanaticism shown by “Lord” Strom Lightbringer – if you need a characteristic, think the utmost LN-holier-than-thou prickishness of a fallen paladin imaginable and there you are. The other males of the group are a thief called Yuri who contributes exactly nothing to the storyline, while the same can be said of the squire, who is essentially regarded as a meat-shield. It should come as no surprise that the elven mystic and the sorceress begin a relationship that is by far the thing about the group that is best developed. While said relationship offers for a ready means of identification, in the end, it overshadows the characters involved , somewhat neglecting their individual characters – especially the sorceress Tasha remains rather pale.

MAJOR SPOILER:

There’s another storyline in the Twilight Dungeon: Unbeknown to Sarvesh, a hidden threat looms and has even infiltrated his elite cadre! While this story is nice and keep the cadre of characters busy, it’s overshadowed by the ingenious nature of especially Bargle (the pseudopod-thing), Suri (the medusa) and Sarvesh.

——————————————————————-

Conclusion:

“Wings of Twilight” has been a dual reading experience for me – on the one hand, the chapters in the dungeon per se are a true joy to read and do a great job in making the humanoid community interesting, exciting and cool. On the other hand, the antagonists remain cardboard cutouts and mostly despicable – especially in a world where magic is essentially color-coded by alignment, the fanaticism of the main antagonist cannot be justified by any means, his cohorts remaining either unsympathetic, underdeveloped cretins or inconsequential in the case of the two ladies. While the lesbian relationship is probably geared towards making them more exciting for a male (or BGLT) audience, at least for me, they didn’t do the trick, instead coming off as inconsequential: I can’t, for the love of my life, fathom a good reason why they would stick with this insufferable prick. This might have been the intention of the author, though: After all, the dungeon’s society is harsh and in order to depict e.g. the callous regard for goblin-life as something to identify with, one would need a stark contrast. Devoting about half of the chapters to this storyline, though, rather hurts the book due to the fact that Hans Cumming’s biggest strength as an author, in my opinion is his ability to depict this strange society and make it relatable and even funny at times: The dungeon’s section is suffused with a humor that reminds one in the best cases of the Dresden Files prior to the series’ latest two debacles. The scarce battles on the other hand did not excite me that much.

During my lecture, I found myself wishing more and more that Hans Cummings would have resisted the temptation of adding this antagonistic storyline – a short introduction, perhaps 2 chapters and then go for their delve, leaving more room to develop the intriguing dungeon and its inhabitants or even the world and its enigmatic cataclysm and cosmology. Were I to rate this book on the merits of the dungeon alone, I’d settle for a final verdict of 4.5 or even 5 stars, but the dilution of the original concept with the second storyline, especially due to not featuring a satisfying payoff for the antagonists: The growth even the females go through is marginal at best, especially when compared to the trials and tribulations of Sarveth and his clique.It should be noted that the book features some nice b/w-maps of the land and the dungeon. In the end, my final verdict will reflect the cool society in the dungeon that does not devolve into a standard noble/bloodthirsty savage dichotomy more than the (in my opinion) antagonists that can be neglected for a final verdict of 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

Wings of Twilight is available from:

By Paco Garcia Jaen

You know, for someone who’s just 25, Drizzt Do’Urden has certainly lived a lot. He’s even survived the Spellplague and managed to remain a legend. Not bad going for someone who was cast out from his homeland for not being evil. Who would have thought!

Drizzt has become one of those icons in the Dungeons & Dragon’s world and his creator and author R.A. Salvatore probably the most loved author in the D&D range of novels. With over 50 novels under his belt, there is no questioning his skills have been proven beyond any doubt.

You could be cynical and think that, after so many novels, how can a character remain fresh and be able to surprise you. Read this novel and you’ll find out.

Charon’s Claw is the third book in the tetralogy of NeverWinter (it was going to be a trilogy, but they changed their mind because there is so much stuff going on that another book makes sense. If you don’t believe me, listen to the podcast with R.A. Salvatore). In this book, Dritzz and Dhalia go in search of Herzgo Alegni, the evil tiefling who owns Charon’s Claw, an extremely powerful sentient sword that will make things very, very complicated for our heroic couple.

Of course it’s not as simple as that. There is also a Drow expedition into the ruins of Glaunltgrym and Artemis Entreri comes back, turning the whole scenario into a very, very tense situation. Oh, and there are the Aboleths. Let’s not forget them. Or that Succubus; she’s quite something.

As usual, I am being deliberately vague about the plot as I don’t want to give any spoilers, but let me assure you, there is *a lot* going on in this book. And if you read somewhere this is the end of the trilogy, sorry, but that is not correct.

Salvatore doesn’t spend too long introducing the whole plot. The start of the book describes the Drow expedition in search of a lost city in gorgeous detail. Personalities and intrigue are interwoven in a spiderlike manner very appropriate and fitting to the spider goddess worshipping evil elves. Something that doesn’t cease to amaze me is how Salvatore keeps making the Draw truly despicable. The insight into their motivations and reasons to behave the way they do, how much they hate each other but how they hate even more anyone else, their hate relation with the formidable driders, the cunning ability to enslave others… Everything is meticulously portrayed to great effect.

And of course we have Dritzz going through some serious thinking. In this book we find a Dritzz full of doubt and questioning his believes and relationship with Dhalia. He is shown under a more vulnerable light and Salvatore doesn’t shy away from dwelling into his doubts, his fears and the complex relationship with Dhalia and Artemis Entreri. This is a more “human” Dritzz, very easy to relate to and empathise with, one that you’ll want to keep reading just to find out how he resolves his own turmoil.

Locations are beautifully detailed in their descriptions. The sense of location and atmosphere of the many places contained in this novel is ever-present. From the dark forest and cold nights, to the dank and dirty tunnels leading to Glauntlgrym and the ruins of the city of Neverwinter, the idiosyncrasies that make every location unique and different are reflected without being too obvious or overused.

And there are battles and fights. Yes, both. And both are absolutely terrific.

I have a thing for fights and battles. I, simply put, get lost in them very, very easily. And I mean that I truly get lost. I just, suddenly, have no idea what’s going on, what’s happened, who’s done what, who’s alive and who’s injured. Describing battles is indeed not easy.

And yet these are a joy to read. Salvatore’s visual language allows the reader to get an ideal sense of, not just the actions and fighting techniques of anyone/anything involved in a fight, but also the way the fight is aided or hindered by the surroundings. For Salvatore, trees, walls, columns, slippery surfaces and a whole selection of environmental features are just another way to create rich and exciting fighting scenes throughout the book.

Conclusion

One of the pivotal elements of the book, the relationship between the many characters, is handled masterfully. Motivations, desires, frustrations, fears, confessions, conversations, alliances, allegiances… they all are congruent and consequential to the events that are going on around the characters that experience them. You will often wonder why do characters behave like that, why do they put up with certain type of behaviour or suffer the humiliation. It all is revealed in due time with an “Oh!” being uttered every single time.

Although inspiration is something Salvatore has never been short of, it feels like the author is actually enjoying writing about the characters. There is a sense of a Dritzz Do’Urden that’s being discovered, rather than evolved. If I had to bet on it, I’d say Salvatore is as intrigued about how Dritzz feels as we are, and he’s just as keen to keep writing to find out as we are to keep reading to be surprised.

And the end of the book is perfect example of all this. Although the following book is set in an all-to-obvious way, Salvatore leaves no doubt that there is a lot more to come, and that what’s to come is not just the consequence of what’s going on, but also the right consequence, leaving a feeling that you’ll be missing a lot if you don’t pick up this coming book.

Needless to say I loved this book. Very well worth every second spent reading it and very highly recommended. If you run D&D games, you’ll find endless inspiration in this book. If you play any other game, the ideas and locations will indeed be of use. If you just like fantasy, this is a rich but easy to read book that will keep you very entertained and make you want to get more.

A lot more.

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By Thilo Graf

This being a fiction anthology from Rite Publishing, I’ll break the format of my usual reviews and instead try to provide a kind of teasers of this selection of short stories inspired by one of the best RPG-supplements of the last couple of generations. that being said, very minor SPOILERS abound.

Still here? All right! After an aptly-written introduction by editor David Paul, we dive right into the first short story: In Jonathan McAnulty’s “Living Legend”, we meet Tarl Dron – a hero, but also a man and as a man, he is wont to exaggerate: To impress women, to gain social status, to bask in admiration…but when he gets an introduction to the Coliseum to face his own accounts, will he live up to the legend he crafted?

In Tim Hitchcock’s “Focus”, we meet Ergasin, a champion, a bitter man once taken by the seers of Black Mountain, has once lost someone and memories may be among the worst foes ne can have – especially when in the Coliseum…

“The Sleeper Awakened”, by T.H. Gulliver, is perhaps the most abstract, far-out of the short stories. Taking the strange landscape of dream into full account, we meet a royal couple unwilling to live up to their destiny, a singing girl and a fate that is both cruel, poetic and hopeful – all in the fluidity and ephemeral creepiness of dreams, where fiction and reality not only blur, but become one and the same. I’ve said it time and again and I’ll repeat it here: T.H. Gulliver gets horror, gets creepiness and this is the final proof that he needs to write some kind of far-out mega-adventure!

Jess Carson’s “Full Circle” is more straight-forward – a team of individuals is after a trader of stolen dreams and apart from the uncommon protagonists and locations, this narrative is perhaps the one that could also happen in a regular setting with minor modifications. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read and after the dream-like awesomeness of the last short story, a more down-to-earth reading experience, though my least favourite one in the book.

In Rob Manning’s “With Intent”, we learn abound the denizens of dream, meet perhaps one of the most relatable protagonists herein and learn about the Denizens of Leng and their dread plots in the land of dream as well as about the political landscape around the Coliseum. This is also one of my favourite stories herein, thus no more spoilers on this one.

John C. “Valdemar the Mad” Rock provides us with a nice little story called “The Invitation” about the seductiveness of the Coliseum and how, among other things, good people may be tempted into joining the games of the Khan – should Vallah risk her life to grant her father another shot at glory, perhaps even a second life? And is he, is he, is anyone who they appear to be?

“Oneirobound”, by Matt Banach recounts a clever and woeful tale of one lost into dreams – among the stories herein, it is perhaps this one that has the clearest language and its conclusion is touching and serves as both a warning and a bleak outlook – the epilogue has one gulp.

In Ewan Cummings “Needlework”, we meet Bess, apprentice and sewer – but not only of cloth, but of corpses. Thrust into an intrigue in her guild and starting to get glimpses of the truth, will she be able to keep her precarious social standing and come out of the intrigues alive?

In Neil Spicer’s “The Dreams we keep”, Kanen, brilliant fighter and perhaps last of the Olosani is clinging to dreams of past happiness, addicted to them and has to face the facts of past, present and future, learn to trust and fight alongside an angelic ally and also brave two of the racial enemies of his kind – terrible, psychic vampires that feel alive, but certainly not mortal – will he prevail?

In Steven E. Schend’s “Threshold” an archmage has a heavy duty – returning to the Tarnished Souk after a long absence, a showdown awaits with his former protégé – here, he was taught the art of dream-theft and burning and thus, if one place may see the demise of the former apprentice’s dreams of grandeur and dominion, it is here, in an exciting showdown of battle, rhetoric and wits.

And finally, there is L. Jagi Lamplighter’s “Foot-sore Angel” – a disillusioned angel walks in trench-coat through a desolate dreamscape, igniting cigarettes with his flickering halo and seeking redemption. And as dreams border all worlds, not just fantasy worlds, a bit of dream bleeds over to our own world in this particular story. Of all the protagonists, this one is perhaps the most tragic one, but the story’s stellar humour and dark wit alleviates what could have easily become a gloom-fest. This vies with T.H. Gulliver’s contribution for my personal rank one – a touch of Dresden Files suffuses this one.

Conclusion:

Editing is very good, though I noticed the odd typo here and there – generally, though, the anthology can be considered mostly free of glitches. Formatting adheres to and easy-to-read one-column standard and the overall quality of the narratives is good. While not all of them get the ephemeral, subtle wrongness inherent in dreams that I personally love about the Coliseum Morpheuon and its FoTS-series, I think that each of the stories herein adds a different facet, a different flavour to the mix and much like a well-rounded meal, each spice, each flavour adds to the overall recipe, resulting in a final experience that is larger than the sum of its parts. I’ve written it once and I’ll write it again: I’d definitely love a straight sequel to the Coliseum Morpheuon, perhaps other islands in the vast dreamlands and this anthology once again has me clamour for more. In the end, “Anthology of Dreams” is an enjoyable read that, much like dreams, ranges from joyful and almost nostalgic accounts of past and present events to formless nightmares where signifier and signified start to mix and lose cohesion to dump the reader into a vortex of emotional responses and associations. This book, at least for me, has been vastly more enjoyable than almost all stripes of other fantasy I’ve read in the last year – thus, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 due to being imaginative, full of awesome characters and variety as well as due to the low price of admission.

Endzeitgeist out.

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By Paco Garcia Jaen

Last time I spoke to Bruce R. Cordell he said “my writing is getting better”.

Now I have the proper response to such bold statement: “No shit!”

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, his writing is getting better. And so is his storytelling. A lot better.

To start with let’s say that a statement like the one above is not bold. It is, in fact, rather humble. We are talking about the man who brought us The Ithilliad, the 3.5 version of Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, the 4th Edition of Dark Sun and the Neverwinter campaign, amongst many other rather terrific books.

So for someone to say that his writing is getting better is very humble because his writing is already pretty sensational.

Spinner of Lies is reading proof of this. The second book featuring the adventures of Demascus and friends in the Forgotten Realms is very, very gripping. And epic. It’s also getting very epic.

For those of you who still haven’t read The Sword of the Gods, tutt tutt! If you had, you’d know that Demascus is a deva. Just not an ordinary deva. Oh no! He is a deva with a mission. His mission is to dispose of anyone/thing who’s wronged the gods in a big way. His means are many because his power is mighty. Totally mighty. And he has all sort of extras. From a charm that tells him if people are lying, a scarf with x-ray vision and the hell of a temper, and a sword that is the equivalent of the Bat-mobile, the Enterprise and the Millennium Falcon all in one. But it is a sword. A big one. Her name is Exorcessum, by the way. Trust me; it is in your best interest to remember that.

Demascus can die, but not for long. When he dies, he comes back to life again, in time, to resume his mission. However, his memories are stored in one of the relics he doesn’t currently have, so he’s finding out little by little who he was, what he’s meant to do and, most importantly, his true power.

Oh, and he has enemies. Big, bad scary enemies, who follow him through incarnations, like Kalkan the Rakshasa. He’s well nasty!

In this novel, Arathane, a queen of mighty power and even mightier beauty, judging by the way Demascus babbles when she’s around (you should see him… it’s really funny!) asks Demascus and friends (the ones he found in the firs novel. You’ll find out who when you read it) to find out what’s going on in a secret mine in a secret island that mines for a secret mineral full of magic. Sounds easy, huh?

Well, no. Because the drow are involved. And spiders. Tons of spiders. Like a gazillion of them.

There is more to the story. Quite a lot more; but I don’t want to spoil it because, you know, that’d be pretty mean and I want Bruce to sell tons of this book.

Right, let’s see if I can be a bit more serious about this.

The story is pretty good. Not because the base plot is anything overtly original – it’s pretty much a dungeon crawl with a few encounters like the ones you have in any game of D&D 4th Edition – but because the way Cordell uses Demascus past, present and even his future to enhance the story. This novel, just like The Sword of the Gods, is not about the story, but about the characters; more specifically, about Demascus, and the way that uncertainty, regrets, fear of the future, fear of oneself and difficult decisions affect the characters and the people around them.

Secondly the novel is so good because the author’s knowledge of the psyche of the Drow is, simply, incredible and very uncompromising. Whereas some of us might have had a very watered down version of the drow in the past (they’re just unpleasant most of the time), Cordell shows them in their fullest and most credible evil behaviour. Many a time I found myself whispering “Jeezzzz lass… exactly what’s your problem with men?” or “C’mon, even I wouldn’t do that to an Ettercap!” However, from time to time and just to make sure there is a weak spot even in the toughest of foes, a glimpse of vulnerability is shown, just to be discarded by the antagonist as a mere fluke caused by the circumstances. Talk about denial!

And thirdly (yes, there is a thirdly) because reading the book you can’t help but wishing you were there, swinging the sword and facing your enemies while your friends fight side by side and you save each other lives.

The narrative is, to say the least, engaging. It is easy to read and Cordell uses plain and simple language. A bit too simple sometimes. The only reservation I have about the narrative is that most, if not all, the characters in the book, regardless of their origin, race or culture, speak in the same way. I wouldn’t mind reading more colloquialisms and having a sense of accent.

The description of the locations is pretty good. Precise enough that you know exactly where you are, but vague enough that your mind can fill up the gaps and add your own personality to the world. As with the language, some of the locations, the more idiosyncratic or likely to come back in future books, might benefit from some more detailed description, like mansions or gambling houses. Please don’t read this as a negative, it is not. You have more than enough information in the book to give you the right feeling of location and scale. This is just my preference for some level of story elements that could be more pivotal for future releases so they stick in the mind more vividly than others.

Conclusion

I have said this before. I will say this again. You can either get used to it, or embrace it (because I am right):

Demascus is the new Drizzt. Except that Demascus would kick Drizzt ass any time of the day. Not that he’d have to, you understand.

I’m not going to say that I like this book because, well, the message should be clear by now (what you mean no? Have you been reading?).

This book works at various levels. For starters it makes for really fun read. The story is dynamic with plenty of action, but also plenty of talk and diplomacy. The characters shine even more than in The Sword of the Gods, which comes to show that the author has been thinking about those characters a great deal. The way he uses enemies and creatures that plenty of people would struggle to know how, is truly exceptional. And that way to use them provides with plenty of ideas for games and adventures. I can tell you, after this novel, I know how to make the Drow properly nasty and scary.

So, please, buy this book. And read this book. I really can’t recommend it enough!

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