| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 29 Nov 2004 : 22:41:35
I just got this novel today. Has anyone else read it? If so, thoughts? I won't be able to dive into the novel for a bit as I'm in the middle of a 1,000 plus page novel at this moment. Thus, I'm curious to see what others think of this work.
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| dbassingthwaite |
Posted - 07 Oct 2005 : 21:58:03
Thanks to people for the recent comments - I'm glad you've all enjoyed the book!
Don |
| Paec_djinn |
Posted - 26 Sep 2005 : 09:34:22
quote:
I feel bit sorry for this often reanimated thread,
It's okay by me because I frequently get books later than usual and I HAVE to reanimate dead threads. Besides, I don't think that many people will mind either. |
| Gladi |
Posted - 25 Sep 2005 : 22:11:40
Be well.
I feel bit sorry for this often reanimated thread, but I recently got bunch of FR books, an this one elicited greatest response from me.
So good work.
(though I was not entirely happy with romantic interest for the female lead) |
| Jindael |
Posted - 29 Jun 2005 : 13:08:36
This was a fantastic novel. I really enjoyed just about every moment of it. I especially liked how the worshipers of Shar were shown as real people, and not just disposable nobodies who happened to be there.
Feena was a fascinating character. Lots of fun to read about. So was Variance. Keph was interesting, but I felt no real connection with him. I did very much like how, at the end, he redeemed himself a little, but was still a bit weak. He didn’t do a Vader and come totally over to the light. (The scene with him and his father at the very end is where I started to feel for him. Heh)
I’d beat a crippled kobold with a rusty spoon +1 to find out more about those tiles Variance had, and Shar’s moment of weakness.
No offence to any authors, but I found that Mistress of the Night was leaps and bounds above Lady of Poison (A good read, but the deities in the story could have been swapped out with any other deities from any other setting). I hope that this is a continuing trend, and Maiden of Pain blows my socks off.
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| Paec_djinn |
Posted - 08 Jun 2005 : 08:40:11
Well I've finished this book today. An extremely good read and I must say it's extremely good. At the beginning I was doubting the books potential but the action really picks up towards the middle-middle end part of the story.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD....
Plot
As I said, the story didn't really pick up until the middle where Keph and Feena first meet and towards the rush of climactic scenes following that till the escape of Variance. Then the ending kinda left a lot of things hanging. There were many plot twists which really caught my mind and were unexpected.
The New Moon Pact and Heresy was kinda confusing to understand but nonetheless I liked the way Dhauna didn't do it properly the first time driving her to insanity. It added a little more originality to the whole all-prophecies-must-be-correct cliche.
The cult of Shar was interesting as well and like someone previously mentioned, it did the story well to tell of reasons why the cultist followed Shar.
Characters & Development
It's hard to find a novel where you can love all the characters in the story but this is one of them. The only person which I didn't quite like was Velsinore. I also liked the way Feena handled the situation...
...but really the unsung hero IMO in this story was Julith. I really liked how she was always extremely helpful and was willing to sacrifice. But this helpfulness also brought suspicion as to who the traitor was. Thankfully she wasn't one of them. I think Julith's faith in Feena was quite a big aspect of what made the story work.
Finally, I liked how Keph developed and matured through the story from a person keen on vengeance to a person who has realized his mistakes and is willing to do everything to change them. I would like to know though, what the marking on Keph's thumb is.
Originality
I didn't find many cliches within this book and I didn't put the book down once I started. Even the sort of slow start was original with Keph being manipulated by Variance and such. The plot twists were very unexpected and weren't cliched adding to it's originality. And finally the church of Selune was something interesting to see into.
Writing Style
Some scenes/parts of this story were hard to understand and image. For example, Dhauna's explanation of the New Moon Pact and Heresy, the fight scene on the bridge and some parts of Feena's first dream. Nonetheless I liked the dark style of both Dave Gross and Don Bassingthwaite, which is why I really liked their books The Yellow Silk and Black Wolf respectively.
Aside from minor imaging flaws, both authors did well to go through the minds of both POV characters Feena and Keph.
Setting and Flavor
There's plenty of flavor in this story especially since there's a church war between Selune and Shar at the end. Setting wise, the authors' description of Yhaunn was extremely good and the research of Strasus and Dhauna's explanation of the NMP and NMH was a good history lesson.
X-Factor
There's not many things in this novel which can stand out as an X-factor except for the church war at the end and the cameo of Rivalen Tanthul. Not even a Radu Malveen which was one of my favorite character in the Sembia series. But the authors did well to tell a good story even with this little things which draw people's attention
Overall
Overall the book was a very good read and it's one of the really good FR novels I've read. The story is dark and very well done and the characters even better.
Some thoughts after reading though:
1. What is the mark on Keph?
2. How is the New Moon Heresy connected to the New Moon Pact? I know the members of the pact were framed for heresy but were there any people who really commited the heresy? What became of them? |
| Darkheyr |
Posted - 18 Apr 2005 : 09:20:23
Well, I've read it within a single night. And nearly flunked a math test cause of not enough sleep next day :P
Absolutely LOVED it, especially since the Sisters of Light and Darkness are my two favourite deities of the Realms.
Feena, Keph are both excellent characters... And Variance was simply brilliant. Pretty much how I would imagine a nightcloak - she was one, wasn't she? - to be. Deal a blow to Moonshadow Hall, ruin some lives, and all just to get some stone tablets in the end. And the depth of her plans, having a "Plan B" for each and everything...did I mention the word "brilliant" yet? :)
And as for shards: they are basically ghaele eladrins (see MM or SRD) with blue hair :P |
| dbassingthwaite |
Posted - 13 Mar 2005 : 01:08:42
quote:
Originally posted by thekosta
All together I liked the book read over night.
Awesome! Cause of sleep deprivation - awright!!
quote:
One thing that I'm confused on though is Feena wearing silver. I didn't think were's could touch silver. If there is an answer to why she was able to please tell me it's driving me nuts.
I don't recall anything in D&D (or in general) that says they can't touch it - just that it can wound them if used as a weapon. Some were interpretations might see it that way, I suppose.
If you need a rationaliztion, though, the silver Feena wore was holy regalia blessed by her goddess. Either that or really cheap stuff that left a green mark on her skin when she took it off. 
Don |
| dbassingthwaite |
Posted - 13 Mar 2005 : 01:03:48
quote:
Originally posted by VEDSICA
Congrats to the authors for great work.
Thanks very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Don |
| thekosta |
Posted - 08 Mar 2005 : 17:45:31
All together I liked the book read over night. One thing that I'm confused on though is Feena wearing silver. I didn't think were's could touch silver. If there is an answer to why she was able to please tell me it's driving me nuts. |
| VEDSICA |
Posted - 07 Mar 2005 : 01:31:13
Just finished this book today.Very,very good read.I enjoyed it much.It started off slow for me though,but picked nicely.I got a little confused on how Dhauna was piecing together her info,but I read it a few more times,and I finally got it.I would have liked to have learned a little more about The Leaves of One Night.Just a little bit more info about it would have been nice.Also I liked that there really wasn't much hack and slash in this book.Which is always refreshing.Not that I don't liked a great battle.It's just nice sometimes.I don't have anything bad to say about this book.Congrats to the authors for great work. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 15 Feb 2005 : 05:35:26
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I didn't feel Lady of Poison handled this aspect as successfully (I didn't see why any non-insane person would ever want to help the Rotting Man, for example).
It's not alone. I also believe Venom's Taste showed no reason why any sane person would become a follower of Talona. But, then again, that might be the point.
True. However, I expected a novel of a series called "Priests" that is entitled Lady of Poison to humanize Talona's followers a bit more, even if they are "evil". I liked the novel, don't get me wrong, but I'd have to agree with those who said it was more about Lurue than Talona. The Rotting Man and his minions (not well characterized though they may be) don't even get that much screen time. The book might as well have been called Unicorn Queen instead.
I felt Shar's followers got enough screen time in Mistress of the Night for the title to make sense, and I recall that one of the authors--I think Bassingthwaite--mentioned that Selune could easily be a "Mistress of the Night", herself. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 15 Feb 2005 : 04:39:26
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I didn't feel Lady of Poison handled this aspect as successfully (I didn't see why any non-insane person would ever want to help the Rotting Man, for example).
It's not alone. I also believe Venom's Taste showed no reason why any sane person would become a follower of Talona. But, then again, that might be the point. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 14 Feb 2005 : 22:55:02
quote:
Originally posted by Kameron M. Franklin
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Oh, that one is creepy, too--even more so than the ones for the other Priest novels.  It honestly makes me wonder why anyone would become a priestess of Loviatar.
A question I hope I successfully answered in the book.
I hope so too--I can hardly wait to read it.
Which reminds me: another great thing about Mistress of the Night is that the followers of Shar seemed to have plausible reasons for joining her cult. I didn't feel Lady of Poison handled this aspect as successfully (I didn't see why any non-insane person would ever want to help the Rotting Man, for example). |
| Kameron M. Franklin |
Posted - 14 Feb 2005 : 19:06:21
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Oh, that one is creepy, too--even more so than the ones for the other Priest novels. It honestly makes me wonder why anyone would become a priestess of Loviatar.
A question I hope I successfully answered in the book. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 12 Feb 2005 : 02:05:47
quote:
Originally posted by Kameron M. Franklin
If you thought that one was creepy, I'm intrigued to see what you think about the cover for Maiden of Pain. (You can see it on Amazon.com.)
Oh, that one is creepy, too--even more so than the ones for the other Priest novels. It honestly makes me wonder why anyone would become a priestess of Loviatar.
quote:
My apologies for sidetracking the thread. I just found the effect it had on you interesting. I personally found it to be one of sorrow in the midst of what should have been a tranquil/peaceful setting. Mark Fishman has done an excellent job on all the Priest covers to date.
No need to apologize. :) Your interpretation makes sense, as well. It's a sad picture (it represents a very, very sad event for Feena), but seeing a human hand on the wolf sent chills up my spine.
And I agree that the Priest covers are excellent--some of the best artwork I've seen on any books as of late. All of them feature little details that surprise and even shock me. Did you notice that on the Lady of Poison cover, Marrec has tears of blood in his eyes? |
| Kameron M. Franklin |
Posted - 11 Feb 2005 : 22:31:39
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Actually, I found the cover to be creepy and unsettling (in a good way, mind you). Did you take a close look at the foremost paw of the wolf?
If you thought that one was creepy, I'm intrigued to see what you think about the cover for Maiden of Pain. (You can see it on Amazon.com.)
My apologies for sidetracking the thread. I just found the effect it had on you interesting. I personally found it to be one of sorrow in the midst of what should have been a tranquil/peaceful setting. Mark Fishman has done an excellent job on all the Priest covers to date. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 11 Feb 2005 : 02:44:04
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Rad
I quite like this artwork, the subject is just the type of thing I like...the woodlands, druid\ranger-style character, wolf ... However, as nice as the image is, it isn't quite what I was expecting. I imagined something more darker and more evil, wheras this image looks quite calm. Do you have any influence on what should be depicted on the covers of novels?
Actually, I found the cover to be creepy and unsettling (in a good way, mind you). Did you take a close look at the foremost paw of the wolf? I think the cover represents a stylized version of (SPOILER)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The death of Dhauna Myritar, in which case the person holding the wolf, Feena, is actually in great emotional pain (and she looks it, IMO).
I finished this book today and I absolutely loved Feena, the protagonist. Throughout the book, she is bombarded with problems, but she doesn't waste time angsting about them--she gets on her feet and takes action. She tries to do whatever it takes to help Moonshadow Hall, even if it means sneaking out on her own (when no one else wants her to) or breaking a few old traditions. Feena's emotions were very real and very human; she gets frustrated and isn't always nice. This is a character that I truly feel for--a worthy protagonist.
On the subject of loose ends--the book did leave me wanting more. :) I think some mystery is a good thing, it leaves the sense that the problems that occured weren't tied up into a neat little package. Variance isn't dead, Shar's secret may well be discovered, Feena will still have to work to bring more people into the New Moon Pact...and so on. |
| Melfius |
Posted - 12 Jan 2005 : 21:13:12
Well, thank you for replying regardless. I guess if I want to include this in my campaign (and I will, as I feature Selûne quite regularly in my campaigns!) I can do so.
Thanks! |
| dbassingthwaite |
Posted - 12 Jan 2005 : 20:24:43
No, but I hadn't really considered it. It's a very good question though and excellent reasoning.
Very slight spoiler:
The Shards are, I think, more significant symbolic in their number than in actually representing actual phases of the moon. If there was an eighth Shard to correspond to the new moon, she'd be hidden just as Selune is on those nights.
I suppose the answer could be maybe there is and maybe there isn't. Not being elusive - I just hadn't considered it before.
Don |
| Melfius |
Posted - 12 Jan 2005 : 02:41:28
Just finished reading this wonderful book! I just have one question for the imaginative authors:
***SPOILER APPROACHING****
"SPOILER APPROACHING?!?"
"OPEN FIRE!!!! ALL WEAPONS!!!!!"
"DISPATCH WAR ROCKET AJAX TO BRING BACK IT'S BODY!!!"
Anyways, my question is this: Is there then an eighth Shard that represents the New Moon and the New Moon Pact? If so, is this the same Shard appearing to Feena during her death scene? |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 13 Dec 2004 : 14:49:43
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Rad
Theres a new article over at WotC:At Home in Fourstaves House.
Good find Lord Rad and a fine article on a family with a great deal of potential for future stories. |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 13 Dec 2004 : 08:33:02
Theres a new article over at WotC:At Home in Fourstaves House. |
| Sourcemaster2 |
Posted - 10 Dec 2004 : 06:11:28
I found the book extremely interesting. In a world where clerics can speak to their god, it's nice to have an example of heresy and some reasoning behind it. Clerical administrative corruption is also nice, as well as the subtle, day-to-day events of a temple. Human clerics have been sadly neglected in FR for the most part-the main reason I like the Priest series so much-and one of the Selune's sets an example for understanding religion as a whole. The inter-church conflict was insightful, as was the use of divine magic-though I did wonder why so many of the priests wielded magic. To continue my outpour, the New Moon Pact was a very cool concept, quite specific with a flavorful history-something lacking in many D&D associations (though rarely in FR, thank Mystra!)-and with some interesting abilities. I didn't mind the loose ends-all were intriguing enough to make me buy a sequel/spinoff. What I did wonder about was Keph. I was sure that he would become a cleric of Selune! Variance's claims of priestly potential, his conversion and prayers to the moon goddess...when Feena lay wounded, I suspected he would arrive with a bit of divine mojo up his sleeve. Either that, or perhaps a conversion to the shadow weave after being effected by the magical tiles, so that he could use a different kind of arcane magic (it makes little stat-sense, but idea-wise it seems ok). Anyone have similar expectations? |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 03 Dec 2004 : 13:45:36
Thanks both 
Don\Dave, just a quick question on your roles when writing this novel... how did you assign parts of the novel between you? Did you each write specific chapters or assign characters to each other to develop? I'm trying to grasp an idea of how a multi-author novel such as this gets written. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 03 Dec 2004 : 13:32:23
quote:
Originally posted by dbassingthwaite
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Rad
Thanks for the info, Don Sorry for the confusion as well, when I said "sigils" I actually meant "Shards" 
Ahh... That was an existing bit that came out of a couple of Realms sourcebooks. The Shards are divine servants of Selune. There's an existing D&D monster assigned to them (planetar or solar or some such) but if you think angel you're not far off. As I recall, seven was a pre-existing number for them.
Don
Also, one of the Shards of Selûne appeared very briefly in The Wyvern's Spur, and there were a couple of references to the Shards in Song of the Saurials. |
| dbassingthwaite |
Posted - 03 Dec 2004 : 13:14:13
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Rad
Thanks for the info, Don Sorry for the confusion as well, when I said "sigils" I actually meant "Shards"
Ahh... That was an existing bit that came out of a couple of Realms sourcebooks. The Shards are divine servants of Selune. There's an existing D&D monster assigned to them (planetar or solar or some such) but if you think angel you're not far off. As I recall, seven was a pre-existing number for them.
Don |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 03 Dec 2004 : 10:04:17
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
So there seemed, to me, to be things that were just left hanging and didn't get tied up and that bothered me. :)
...which leaves it open for a possible sequel I guess by doing that and if the novel sells well and gets a good reception by WotC standards, then they are likely to request Don and Dave to write more on the characters. Take Shadows Witness, for example, which spawned the Erevis Cale Trilogy.
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Chapter 10 is a dark scene that later becomes even worse in later chapters.
Excellent, i'll look forward to it. This sounds like the darkness of Dave's Black Wolf roots and Don's Yellow Silk flavor coming into play |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 03 Dec 2004 : 09:53:24
quote:
Originally posted by dbassingthwaite
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Rad
I'm curious as to what is meant by the seven sigils when describing the temple of Selune... are these the seven phases of the moon? If so, could you please state what these phases are.
I'm actually not certain what "sigils" you're refering to (way to stump the author!) but if it's seven, yes, it's moon phases: waxing crescent, half, and gibbous; full moon, waning gibbous, half, and crescent.
And that is deliberately seven, not eight. The attitude toward/status of the new moon in Selunite faith is explained in the book.
I don't actually have "sigil" in my manuscript anywhere - it might have been substituted in during a later proofreading. If you can give me an example of its use (direct quote) I might be able to confirm this.
Don
Thanks for the info, Don Sorry for the confusion as well, when I said "sigils" I actually meant "Shards" |
| Kuje |
Posted - 03 Dec 2004 : 08:31:34
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Rad
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Good book Don and Dave. :) Kind of a cliff hanger ending though.....
Wow you read though this one pretty quickly Kuje. I assume it gets quite gripping How would you rate the novel overall?
I tend to read fast anyhow. :) After owning and reading almost 1,000 novels and reading for over 15+ years I tend to read fast if the story keeps me interested, which this book did BUT:
But there was parts, as I said over on Worlds, that I didn't like. The ending just kind of leaves you hanging.... I'd like to know more about the tome.... What's Shar's one moment of weakness and why did it get put into that tome? Who wrote the tome? Etc... What happens to Feena and does she find others to expand the New Moon Pact? Does she get together with the guard captain? Did anyone ever find the real Lady Monstead? What happens to Keph now that he is marked? Etc.
So there seemed, to me, to be things that were just left hanging and didn't get tied up and that bothered me. :)
So I'd give it around a 3 or maybe a 4 out of a 5..... Because I did like the action and the characters but a lot of the above parts just didn't set right with me. And as I said on Worlds, chapter 10 is a dark scene that later becomes even worse in later chapters. |
| Lord Rad |
Posted - 03 Dec 2004 : 07:56:44
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
Good book Don and Dave. :) Kind of a cliff hanger ending though.....
Wow you read though this one pretty quickly Kuje. I assume it gets quite gripping How would you rate the novel overall? |
