| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Inquisitor |
Posted - 11 May 2006 : 22:59:14
Well I just finished the Ruin and think I might leave some comments here. I am surprised that I am the first, at least I haven't seen a thread about it.
You might remember be from previous discussions that I always complained about how weak dragons were portrayed and I have to say that this book finally does them justice. Especially in the beginning you get the feeling that taking on even a single dragon is a massive endevour.
But there are also some not so good things about the book if you ask me. One thing would be the many fights which take up a big part of the book. While that may be appropriate for the last book of this serie, it also means that there is not much character development. Especially Raryn and Dorn after the final battle could have been fleshed out much better.
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Also in the end how easily Sammaster deals with all the dragons is a bit exeggerated if you ask me. First it is mentioned that he has not many combat spells and then he kills dozends of dragons with his little finger. And why the Talons didn't simply topple his tower and instead attacked him directly is beyond me.
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Entreri1000 |
Posted - 22 Nov 2006 : 18:20:05
I like the books.
That said: It was ridiculous how easily dragons were killed by either the good guys or Sammaster. Dracoliches were dying left and right.
Spoiler below:
Not to mention Sammaster thought he could defeat all the dragons at the end. Gold (great wyrms?), Silvers etc. Don't Gold Great Wyrms have a CR of 62? He was too easily destroying the Talons of Justice. Sammaster may be the same class as the top mages in Faerun, but that is too much. Even Larloch shouldn't be able to so easily defeat a legion of dragons. |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 25 Aug 2006 : 14:29:28
Glad you liked it, Mr. Wilson. |
| Mr. Wilson |
Posted - 25 Aug 2006 : 06:15:38
So, I just read this series, over three days and 15 hours or so after Dragons of Faerūn convinced me I needed to read the books. I must say, I really, really liked this book series. Normally, I play in the Realms and read Dragonlance, as to not subconciously involve my PC's in the same things as novel characters in the Realms. This is only the second series in the Realms I've read, the other was the Avatar Series.
Pavel and Will were my two favorite characters, mostly because the way they translated their friendship into an unspoken bond through the use of taunts and jabs.
The story itself was engaging and well written, and really, that's all you can ask for in a novel. The final scene inside the keep was shocking to me, as I didn't see it coming (without being to specific and thus ruining the book), however I did see the twist at the end involving the Cult mostly because my last car had a bumper sticker that advised, "Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup." Personaly, I think that's really sound advice.
So, in summary, highly recommended from a non-Realms reader. |
| Horatio |
Posted - 15 Jul 2006 : 23:07:05
Of course, I just meant it's a concept that bears similarity. |
| Winterfox |
Posted - 15 Jul 2006 : 22:12:17
Oh, that.
But it's very different, though. He didn't become estranged from his people because he thinks they're evil or morally bankrupt -- he thought them backward and passive. Besides, as I understand it, he is slowly coming to see the value of elven/Avariel ways. |
| Horatio |
Posted - 15 Jul 2006 : 21:29:50
The fact he pulls away from his people and refuses to accept his society and upbringing culture.
Edit: I never said anything about personality being alike. |
| Winterfox |
Posted - 15 Jul 2006 : 21:11:55
quote:
Originally posted by Horatio
I also liked the story of Taegan for his Drizzt-like narrative, something I can relate. I'm personally more into characters than the story itself, in anything I read-- so I wasn't so much into the fights. I'll get my grubby hands on the third book when it ships to Israel!
I'm curious; why do you think Taegan's narrative is "Drizzt-like"? (I haven't read the third book yet, but in the first two, Taegan is anything but Drizzt-like. He doesn't spend so much time wallowing in his wangst, to start with, and his personality's nothing like Drizzt's, IMO.) |
| Horatio |
Posted - 15 Jul 2006 : 20:17:23
Thank you for making this thread. And thank to Richard Lee Byers for not minding to post and read our opinions!
I read the Rage and the Rite, and I liked Raryn the best from all the characters, something about him calm fatherly logic is compelling. The funny copper dragon too, Jivex, and the banters between the halfling and the priest were all great. Can't say I'm too much into Dorn or the female songdragon. Dorn is a paradox of boring and interesting... interesting for his history and unusualness, boring for his sulking, not-so-special personality. The songdragon... can't say I was too interested in what she had to say, maybe I didn't see anything unique about her goddess-like personality. *shrugs* maybe she was meant to give room for the other characters idiosyncrasies to shine through. All I can say is that her relationship with Dorn reminded me of Catti-brie relationship with Wulfgar in the Icewind Dale trilogy, female psychiatrists to big bullies.
I also liked the story of Taegan for his Drizzt-like narrative, something I can relate. I'm personally more into characters than the story itself, in anything I read-- so I wasn't so much into the fights. I'll get my grubby hands on the third book when it ships to Israel!
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| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 18:55:09
You're welcome, Lameth. Glad you liked it.
I'd like to bring back characters from the trilogy, but of course it all depends on what WotC wants to publish. There are no immediate plans. For the present, I'm throwing a little party in Thay with all-new protagonists, and I hope people will find it interesting. |
| Lameth |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 17:05:08
Thank you Richard for this wonderful trilogy.
*Thumbs up*
Will there be other storys about the heros?
The Character Profile for Will Turnstone:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=books/fr/ruincp |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 04:37:26
Glad you liked it, Darth. |
| Darth KTrava |
Posted - 12 Jul 2006 : 03:11:36
I finally got around to reading "The Ruin". Took a longer detour than originally planned....  But I enjoyed it after the slow start of trying to remember stuff from the previous two books. I agree with the one poster who got tired of Dorn's melancholy trips. I think Pavel should've jack-slapped some sense into him when he wouldn't listen to advice...  There was lots of action in this one. It's too bad that Pavel had to be the one to bite it but he did it as a "sacrifice" in ending the Rage. The interactions between him and Will were hilarious!  |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 22:33:42
Eh, characters don't need stats, they just need to be good characters. :)
As for Ruin...it's in my "to-read" queue for the near future. I like the other Rogue Dragons books (a lot), so I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy this one. Richard Lee Byers hasn't let me down so far. |
| Crust |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 20:15:02
I would guess Taegan to be a fighter/wizard/bladesinger. How those levels break down is anybody's guess. Wasn't he casting third level spells? |
| Freakboy |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 15:18:24
quote:
Originally posted by Crust
I just finished The Ruin last weekend, and I must say I found the entire trilogy very enjoyable.
SPOILERS
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I must say that I had a bit of trouble catching up to the events in The Rite, but that soon passed. That always happens to me when there's that inevitable wait in-between books.
I LOVED the Iryaclea appearance. I was grinning from ear to ear when she was introduced. It reminded me of things like seeing Wolverine in a Spider-man comic, etc. A lot like seeing Starbrow in the Last Mythal series. I was kind of disappointed that she was killed by a white dracolich of all things. I would have expected the Ice Queen to knock the dracolich into next Tuesday. Whites aren't exactly masters of magic, even at great wyrm age...
But that's where one must be careful. One can't assume that the author has the rules memorized. It's always fun making those distinctions (because the connection to the game is clear as day), but like other posters have mentioned, you can't go through the Rogue Dragon books (or any other FR novel) and annotate each paragraph with die rolls, skill checks, and feat usage.
All in all, I think the Rogue Dragon books (and the anthology companions) are a great addition to the FR library.
What I want is a complete compilation of the party and their stats. I know that exists in Dragon somewhere (Dorn being a fighter 10/ranger 3 with some Draconomicon feats), but a tome would be nice. An update on the Heroes Lorebook, perhaps.
The only characters statted out in Dragon were Dorn and Karasendrieth. The other characters from the party (Will, Pavel, Raryn and Taegen) weren't statted out. That was in Dragon 326. I personally would love to know the rough stats for Taegen especially, but I think that is simply not meant to be.
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| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 07:01:46
Very glad you liked it, Crust. |
| Crust |
Posted - 04 Jul 2006 : 03:53:18
I just finished The Ruin last weekend, and I must say I found the entire trilogy very enjoyable.
SPOILERS
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I must say that I had a bit of trouble catching up to the events in The Rite, but that soon passed. That always happens to me when there's that inevitable wait in-between books.
I LOVED the Iryaclea appearance. I was grinning from ear to ear when she was introduced. It reminded me of things like seeing Wolverine in a Spider-man comic, etc. A lot like seeing Starbrow in the Last Mythal series. I was kind of disappointed that she was killed by a white dracolich of all things. I would have expected the Ice Queen to knock the dracolich into next Tuesday. Whites aren't exactly masters of magic, even at great wyrm age...
But that's where one must be careful. One can't assume that the author has the rules memorized. It's always fun making those distinctions (because the connection to the game is clear as day), but like other posters have mentioned, you can't go through the Rogue Dragon books (or any other FR novel) and annotate each paragraph with die rolls, skill checks, and feat usage.
All in all, I think the Rogue Dragon books (and the anthology companions) are a great addition to the FR library.
What I want is a complete compilation of the party and their stats. I know that exists in Dragon somewhere (Dorn being a fighter 10/ranger 3 with some Draconomicon feats), but a tome would be nice. An update on the Heroes Lorebook, perhaps. |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 30 Jun 2006 : 03:37:41
Thanks for the kind words, Freakboy. Glad you enjoyed it. |
| Freakboy |
Posted - 30 Jun 2006 : 02:21:32
Wow what a great trilogy!!! A few thoughts on the final chapter to this epic tale. I was really satisfied with the evolution of Taegen's feelings about his race and culture and felt it was very realistically done and made the character as a whole very refreshing and enjoyable to read about.
By contrast, Dorn's ongoing self contempt really wore me down by the end of the third book. I understand well enough that the psychology of something so traumatic as a life of living as a self percieved "freak" can be extraordinarily difficult to overcome, but by the end of book 3, anytime there was a Dorn introspective moment I found myself saying "God not this again". Maybe that is part of the point, but I didn't like the continuous self loathing that seemed to define Dorn's character.
Jivex was great and I thought the way his personality was portrayed was amongst the best moments in the entire trilogy. Karasendrieth was also a fun character, and seeing her finally completely succomb to the Rage while Brimstone's immunity from the Rage made him succeptible to his own form of madness was a nice bit of dichotomy that I personally enjoyed reading a great deal.
As to Sammaster, I don't have any strong feelings about him one way or the other, but his paranoia about the chosen and such was an interesting take on his madness.
Even though he didn't make it to book 3, I Chatulio was one of my favorite characters in the trilogy and his death in book 2 was one of the truely sad moments in this series for me.
Even though I liked Pavel, I liked that his character died in the end, because it lends a certain credibility to the gravity of the situation the heroes faced that too often is lacking in Realms Novels. His interaction with Will was great and I loved that it continued right up to his dieing words.
Overall, one of the definate must read trilogies in the Realms and I want to thank Mr Byers for a fine piece of work. To my fellow scribes, I say if you haven't read this series, get with the program and pick it up. This was a really fantastic bit of work. Mr Byers is one of my favorite Realms authors and this trilogy like all of his work doesn't disappoint. |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 29 Jun 2006 : 18:16:12
My pleasure, Ark. Like Stephen King says, irony is good for your blood. |
| Arkhaedun |
Posted - 29 Jun 2006 : 16:42:52
The way I always pictured it, the Cult has had ups and downs over the years. I imagine right after the Rage, its severely wounded and definately not cohesive. For the next few years the Cult cells will be doing whatever they need to in order so survive, but years from now they could very easily be causing major problems again.
Of course, thats how I see it. I picture them, with their cell based structure, going up and down since their inception. Its just funny to think of how many cell likely ended up as lunch for their prospective "Sacred One." Irony is fun. Thanks RLB! |
| Richard Lee Byers |
Posted - 29 Jun 2006 : 13:16:01
The cult was not entirely destroyed. |
| Braveheart |
Posted - 29 Jun 2006 : 12:44:58
I hope nobody asked this question before, but was the Cult of the Dragon destroyed at the end of the book or are there some remnants somewhere else that still exist? I can't remember reading about it, although many strongholds were destroyed by various nations (which in my opinion was forgotten a bit in the trilogy, especially at the end). |
| Ergdusch |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 22:08:56
...than I put those on my list as well.... 
(it is difficult with those two - both start with R.B. Kinda cheap excuse but oh well... the two may forgive me...) |
| Chosen of Bane |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 20:41:37
quote:
Originally posted by Ergdusch
...i might as well put R. Baker's books on the list as well...
Just a little FYI...
The Year of the Rogue Dragons Trilogy was written by Richard Lee Byers, the Last Mythal Trilogy is the latest Realms Shaking Trilogy by Richard Baker. |
| Ergdusch |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 20:36:22
Thank thee Wooly!
That information might come in handy. Adding the Lich stats on top of that, throw in a few levels as archmage - done!
About reading the trilogy - have to catch up on so much reading material, which i have learned of since my registration at candlekeep, that i might as well put R. Baker's books on the list as well. once I get around to them I let you know of my opinion!
(turning around to look at the pile of books on the dusty shelves behind me that are anxiously waiting for me to read through their untouched pages: Elminster in Myst Drannor, The tempation of... & ... in Hell; 1000 Orcs, Lone Drow, The two swords. *sigh*)
Ergdusch
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| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 17:24:49
quote:
Originally posted by Ergdusch
Back to Sammasters stats:
- might he be just a very powerful and very crazy magics-hurling wizard lich or is there still some power in him from the time him being a chosen of Mystra?
You can read about Sammy's past in the 2E sourcebook Cult of the Dragon. This book also stats him out a couple of times, though in 2E terms, and not, I believe, as a lich. The book can be downloaded for free from the Wizards downloads page.
quote:
Originally posted by Ergdusch
By the way - is the whole plot - dragons in rage and such - actually linked with Sammasters plan to bring about his (mis-)interpretation of the prophecy "...and dragons shall rule..."? Does the cult of the Dragons play a big(-ger) part in the storyline as well or is it Sammaster only?
I'd recommend reading the trilogy for yourself. It's one of the better Realms trilogies, I think. |
| Ergdusch |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 15:00:14
Thank thee for your quick reply!
Ergdusch |
| Chosen of Bane |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 14:46:00
Yes, Sammaster's belief in the prophecy and the Cult of the Dragon's actions are the major catalyst for all events that take place in the Year of Rogue Dragon's Trilogy. |
| Ergdusch |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 12:41:29
Back to Sammasters stats:
- might he be just a very powerful and very crazy magics-hurling wizard lich or is there still some power in him from the time him being a chosen of Mystra?
- Draconomicon feats? Like what?
By the way - is the whole plot - dragons in rage and such - actually linked with Sammasters plan to bring about his (mis-)interpretation of the prophecy "...and dragons shall rule..."? Does the cult of the Dragons play a big(-ger) part in the storyline as well or is it Sammaster only? |
