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Lameth
Learned Scribe
Germany
196 Posts |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4687 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Nov 2007 : 22:03:46
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Death by dagger from the looks of it. Though covers sometimes do not depict the story well.
It clearly strikes me that Lolth or a spider kisser follower killed another. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 28 Nov 2007 : 23:16:40
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| Cool cover, although who knows what I'll think of the contents of the book... |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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GRYPHON
Senior Scribe
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - 28 Nov 2007 : 23:29:35
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| I enjoyed the first two...I hope this one is just as entertaining... |
'Everyone dies...I only choose the time and place for a few.' --Eric Destler |
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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe
USA
379 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2007 : 02:10:32
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| What, no Q'arlynd on the cover? *sighs resignedly and pouts* |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2007 : 19:52:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Lady Fellshot
What, no Q'arlynd on the cover? *sighs resignedly and pouts*
I kind of expected him on the cover, myself. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2007 : 20:46:42
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| Each book cover in the series has a female Drow on it and yet I find them all a bit (or very) repulsive. That's bad marketing. |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2007 : 21:23:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Ozzalum
Each book cover in the series has a female Drow on it and yet I find them all a bit (or very) repulsive. That's bad marketing.
Well met
I think they're excellent covers and the artwork certainly drew my eye to them. Placing semi-naked drow females on covers isn't all bad  |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2007 : 22:02:32
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Well, I certainly invited that response. All I will say in my defense is that some folks are bigger fans of half-spider women, bimbo necromancers, and bald murderesses than others.
Have I missed a book with a dancing Eilistraeen on the cover? If not, shouldn't that have happened by now? If I have, where is it? |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 00:57:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Ozzalum
Well, I certainly invited that response. All I will say in my defense is that some folks are bigger fans of half-spider women, bimbo necromancers, and bald murderesses than others.
Hmmm, I thought the picture on Book 2 depicted Cavatina in a battle pose--after all, she was holding up a moon symbol. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 30 Nov 2007 00:57:34 |
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 01:34:47
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quote:
I thought the picture on Book 2 depicted Cavatina in a battle pose
Well, I think that might just ruin the series for me. I had her in my mind as a tough and strong but those don't appear to be her primary attributes jugging by that image. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 02:09:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Ozzalum
quote:
I thought the picture on Book 2 depicted Cavatina in a battle pose
Well, I think that might just ruin the series for me. I had her in my mind as a tough and strong but those don't appear to be her primary attributes jugging by that image.
Heh. I have to admit, I didn't think her armor looked quite as it does on that cover... |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4687 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 02:19:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Alaundo
Well met
I think they're excellent covers and the artwork certainly drew my eye to them. Placing semi-naked drow females on covers isn't all bad
I must be getting old and jaded, there was a semi-naked drow female pictured? The spider web pattern in the background and bloodied dagger/long knife caught the most of my attention. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 02:32:52
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quote:
The spider web pattern in the background and bloodied dagger/long knife caught the most of my attention.
You sound like a veteran campaigner to me. Not easily distracted by the superficial things. |
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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe
USA
379 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 05:51:37
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| I would like to call for a cover with a cute male dark elf on it that isn't Drizzt. At this point I may even accept stick figures... |
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nbnmare
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
205 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 12:34:19
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| Jarlaxle doesn't float your boat then, I take it? |
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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe
USA
379 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2007 : 14:31:13
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I'm not a fan of his hat :-P
Besides, like Rinonalynra, I thought that Halisstra and Cavatina were the last two drow on the the covers. It would have made sense to have the other main character show up on a cover at some point. Oh well... |
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BARDOBARBAROS
Senior Scribe
Greece
581 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2007 : 21:06:40
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| i'm waiting this title with impatience... |
BARDOBARBAROS DOES NOT KILL.
HE DECAPITATES!!!
"The city changes, but the fools within it remain always the same" (Edwin Odesseiron- Baldur's gate 2) |
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Herkles
Seeker
82 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2007 : 21:41:34
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lady fellshot, you didn't like any of the cover art in the war of the spider queen? the ones with phearaun, nimor, and ryld.
needless to say i am waiting to get this book. |
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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe
USA
379 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2007 : 01:34:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Herkles
lady fellshot, you didn't like any of the cover art in the war of the spider queen? the ones with phearaun, nimor, and ryld.
needless to say i am waiting to get this book.
Strangely enough, no I was not overly impressed with the portraits for the cover art in WotSQ. I love the books, I enjoy the details of the backgrounds and costuming that the artist put into each cover, but I would be lying if I said I liked their faces and forms as what I expected elves of any color to look like. They remind me too much of the way drow were pictured on the old Dark Elf trilogy covers, which I do not really like either.
Regarding Ascendency of the Last: now I have to wonder who exactly it is on the cover, since it clearly is not Q'arlynd. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2007 : 15:26:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Lady Fellshot
Regarding Ascendency of the Last: now I have to wonder who exactly it is on the cover, since it clearly is not Q'arlynd.
Worst case scenario: it will turn out to be a corrupted Qilue. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Ozzalum
Learned Scribe
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2007 : 19:32:04
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| Is there any word on where the action in this novel will take place? Any thoughts on whether that Drow city of oozes and slimes in the south with feature? |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2007 : 21:27:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by Lady Fellshot
Regarding Ascendency of the Last: now I have to wonder who exactly it is on the cover, since it clearly is not Q'arlynd.
Worst case scenario: it will turn out to be a corrupted Qilue.
All I can say to that is they had better not do that. If the powers that be do not like the chosen why can't they just not write about them and let us decide their fates? If they start Bumping off the chosen or perverting them so soon into 4e, I am really starting to think there is someone wanting to change all things Ed!!
I like this series and where it is heading so i don't want to see Quilue Messed with! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 00:09:54
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
All I can say to that is they had better not do that. If the powers that be do not like the chosen why can't they just not write about them and let us decide their fates? If they start Bumping off the chosen or perverting them so soon into 4e, I am really starting to think there is someone wanting to change all things Ed!!
I like this series and where it is heading so i don't want to see Quilue Messed with!
You mean like killing Khelben and Sylune, so far. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 15:42:43
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| And there are some definite clues in this series so far that Qilue is being "messed with" (that is, becoming corrupted). |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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GRYPHON
Senior Scribe
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 15:59:27
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| Heroes become dull if they are not challenged in some way...but then, I never was a fan of heroes. Give me a good villian any time...and a corrupted Qilue would be a great one. |
'Everyone dies...I only choose the time and place for a few.' --Eric Destler |
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nbnmare
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
205 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 18:32:43
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| "Corrupted" implies a shift from good to evil. In the case of Qilue, I have the impression the change is more like good to neutrality; I certainly wouldn't be surprised if her 4th Edition alignment is CN (that is, if she's still around in the new edition). In fact, I rather suspect the 4E Eilistraee will be CN, unless she somehow rids herself of Vhaeraun's portfolio. |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4687 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 19:02:52
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quote:
Originally posted by nbnmare
"Corrupted" implies a shift from good to evil. In the case of Qilue, I have the impression the change is more like good to neutrality; I certainly wouldn't be surprised if her 4th Edition alignment is CN (that is, if she's still around in the new edition). In fact, I rather suspect the 4E Eilistraee will be CN, unless she somehow rids herself of Vhaeraun's portfolio.
Corrupted means a change from current outlook. Lolth clerics have been corupted by her son, they did not give up evil but acepted another outlook. If Qilue moves from "Good" and there is clearly signs of that her outlook has changed, this because of events.
All in all based on what little we know about the book it is clearly hard to know who assends and what form the Ascendancy takes.
4th design tends to lend to idea that Eilistraee dies, though perhaps Qilue becomes a servant of Lolth as a demipower. *shrugs* We need to see the book. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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nbnmare
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
205 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 20:15:29
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Change and corruption are not synonymous. Corruption is merely one type of change, and it is always a change for the worse (the dictionary uses terms such as "perverted", "tainted", and "infected"). Certainly in the case of followers of Lolth becoming worshippers of Vhaeraun, "worse" is entirely subjective; in fact, many would argue that switching from a incredibly powerful, violent, unpredictable, utterly evil deity to a less powerful, far more subtle, and somewhat more rational evil deity could even be construed as an improvement. "Converted" would be a much more appropriate term in this instance.
To me, the Lady Penitent trilogy does not seem to be heading towards Eilistraee's death at all. My personal predictions for the outcome of Ascendancy of the Last: Lolth loses the portfolio of "the drow race" (though no other deity is able to claim it and she remains a Greater Power), Eilistraee either permanently becomes CN or rids herself of Vhaeraun's portfolio, and Ghaundaur becomes a Greater Power (perhaps by absorbing some or all of Vhaeraun's portfolio; "evil activity on the surface" would be an especially good fit, since then his minions would be active both above and below ground.) If Eilistraee does get rid of Vhaeraun's portfolio, then that deity's return, perhaps as a demipower, is also a possibility. |
Edited by - nbnmare on 04 Dec 2007 20:16:01 |
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initiate
Learned Scribe
Canada
102 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2007 : 22:53:06
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Rinnonalyrna Fathomlin Wrote:
Worst case scenario: its a corrupted Qilue.
This. Would. Make. Me. So. Mad. I would not buy the book. My fan anger would be terrible in its ridiculous magnitude! I would, um, rage impotently and ... stuff.
I'm afraid that I have to disagree that Qilue would make a good villain -- I mean, perhaps for a short while, but in the long term? No. I'm sure it would be "cool", but I really don't think villainy is what the Seven were meant for. Anyway, we've already seen one temporarily corrupted Sister, though granted we haven't, (so far as I know), gotten the complete lowdown on Laeral's adventure with the Crown of Horns, beyond some excellent stuff in "Blackstaff". This is probably unjust, but a change like this also reeks a bit of "we didn't like it, so we changed it", especially at this time. As Kuje mentioned, a couple Chosen are already dead, (though wasn't Khelben Steven Schend's call?)
I'd say Faerun needs its heroes these days. Dark and gritty and lots of gloom, (and, in the case of swords and sorcery settings, lots of barren wastes crawling with beasties), is the new hip in fantasy -- where would, (or where will), the Realms be without its heroes?
My feelings going into "Ascendancy", (apologies if any of this seems out of date; I think I wrote some of it around the time "Storm of the Dead" came out, but I don't think I ever posted it):
Like many others, I'm not thrilled about this shake up in the drow pantheon, particularly not when there are so many other RSEs going on at the same time. From my stand point it could be worse: most of the shaking up has involved evil powers getting whacked, and I'll take good over evil any day. Yet I'd rather Vhaeraun and Selvatarm remained active, because I like them as antagonists and find them interesting. I think that, in general, the higher powers and greater magics of the Realms have been played a little fast and loose in this series thus far, with an eye more toward sensationalism and pot-stirring than long-term consequence. [Which does not mean I don't think Lisa Smedman is a good author.]
At the same time, (and this is entirely my opinion), I think the WotC editorial plotters, (not sure how much say the individual authors get in the outcome of the RSEs they write), have written themselves into something of a hole here. They've established that what we are seeing is the culmination of Lolth and Eilistraee's great game, and that the winner of this final struggle will "take all". They have repeatedly emphasized this, to the point at which anything less as an outcome would seem cheesy and make the initial build up look like unfounded hype. So, (assuming no genius twists), either A: Lolth wins completely, or B: Eilistraee wins completely. Given those options, I'd have no hesitation in rooting for Eilistraee. Suffice it to say that such an uncompromising victory for an evil so undeniably slimey as Lolth would make me very unhappy. It would also reinforce in my mind the vague impression, (not sure where I picked it up), that 4 E is slated to be an overly gloomy, PC-centric slugfest. Add in the fact that I like Eilistraee, (yep; bias), and also that while I think Lolth is a great villain I believe she's had her day and I don't really like her. Despite the fact that we're unhappy about all these evil drow deities dying off, is there anyone who would really dance for joy if Lolth won in as utter a way as would be the case here? Personally, I kind of like the drow how they are for the moment, and like others have said before part of Eilistraee's appeal is that she's the underdog. There's something very arresting about the faint glimmer of light fighting against overwhelming darkness. In short, I'd rather they didn't feel the need to shake things up so badly, but if they really are going to finish off one of these two, I think it should be Lolth. Shame she's far too popular.
There's also this, from "This Year in Drizztland": "I witnessed the hope of the goodly drow, the rise of the followers of Eilistraee. But where are they now?" (Orc King Prelude, 'round about page 11)
Oh, ... crap.
I know its petty, but I could quit 4 E over this.
Right now, I see Nbnmare's predictions as the best way this can all possibly go down.
I suppose, as Kentinal said, we'll just have to wait and see the book. Roll on the last Lady Penitent, [otherwise known as: "The War of the Spider Queen: For Really Reals This Time"].
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2007 : 00:30:04
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quote:
Originally posted by initiate
Rinnonalyrna Fathomlin Wrote:
Worst case scenario: its a corrupted Qilue.
This. Would. Make. Me. So. Mad. I would not buy the book. My fan anger would be terrible in its ridiculous magnitude! I would, um, rage impotently and ... stuff.
But remember, it may not happen. Really, anything could happen in final book of this trilogy. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Topic |
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Ascendancy of the Last
