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Tyrant
Senior Scribe

USA
586 Posts

Posted - 08 Apr 2012 : 04:38:10

This is my attempt at a review of Venom In Her Veinsby Tim Pratt. There will be spoilers but I will try to mark them and try to make sure they aren't major.

Main Characters:
-Zaltys: She is the main character. She is a Yuan Ti Pureblood who has been raised as a human and only a few people know what she really is. She is not one of those people when the story begins. Her class would be Ranger (focused on archery).

-Alaia: Zaltys' adopted mother and the head of the Traveler branch of the Serrat family. She has raised Zaltys as her own daughter as she has no children and no serious prospects on changing that. She is a Shaman.

-Quelamia: An Eladrin wizard in the employ of the Serrats. Her importance is great enough for her to be in on profit sharing instead of a salary. She comes from the Feywild and her magic reflects this.

-Krailash: A Dragonborn who is in charge of security for the caravans and camps of the Travelers. He is a Fighter or some other Martial type. He is supremely loyal and his past is touched on a few times in passing. He hates the Yuan Ti.

-Glory: A Tiefling psion who is responsible for ensuring the secrets of the Travelers remain secret via mind wipes and memory manipulation of the grunt level workers, and others as necessary. She makes herself invisible to all but the higher ups as she isn't very social.

-Julen: A younger member of the Serrat family being groomed for a position in the Guardian branch of the family. He is near Zaltys' age. He would be a Rogue.

The Plot: (possible mild spoilers)
Zaltys was found in the jungle and at the time believed to be the only survivor of a human settlement that got wiped out or enslaved. She is raised as a human in the Serrat family. They are merchants from Delzimmer. She has been told her whole life that her real family was wiped out and that she was the only survivor and she (along with most of the crew) believe that she is a human.

Her adopted mother is in charge of a caravan that goes into the jungle to harvest terazul flowers. These flowers form the finanacial backbone of the family. Their location is a closely guarded secret which enables the Serrats to have a monopoly on them. Their primary use seems to be as a drug. This leads to some characters having to rationalize their actions as the drug has unsavory side effects.

After her coming of age party (where she is given magical gifts from the leaders of the caravan) a soldier who went with Krailash into the jungle years ago to investigate the crying (that turned out to be an infant Zaltys) and who was captured by slavers returns. He tells of being held prisoner by the Derro in the Underdark. Alaia tries to keep things under wraps but Zaltys discovers the man and his story leading her to believe her family may still be alive. So, she sets off into the Underdark to find them and Julen tags along. From this point forward the more magically powerful characters take a back seat and it primarily follows the journey into the Underdark and the mental and emotional journey of several of the characters as secrets are revealed, motives are questioned, and people are made to consider the consequences of their past deeds.

Location: The story takes place in the jungles near Delzimmer. The haunted city of Ammathtar is mentioned once in passing to give an idea of where they are. I had to look Delzimmer up in the 4E FRCG. It is in the entry for the East Rift. Nice to see some other locations.
Lore/Useful Bits: Spoilers ahead
There is quite a bit about the Derro. You get to see the inside of one of their "cities" and see how an insane race functions. A lot of it is not pretty. They are led by the Slime King. This is a title bestowed upon their leader, who doesn't have to be a Derro. Past non Derro leaders have included a Mind Flayer, an Aboleth and a dead (as in really dead, not undead) Grell (who was said to be highly contemplative). The method of succession is never established. The current Slime King tempts Zaltys with an offer of power if she goes along with a plan involving opening portals to the Far Realm and spreading insanity.

There is some insight into the Yuan Ti and their apparent backward thingking when it comes to titles. Purebloods are actually at the bottom of the pile while Abominations are near the top. An attempt at rationalization of the Yuan Ti outlook (their being superior to other species) is made that I thought had some merit. It is made clear that the Yuan Ti are divided in their worship of Zehir and Sseth. The Yuan Ti tempt Zaltys with an offer very similar to that of the Slime King. She speaks to the Anathema (as it is a conduit to Zehir) and tells him where he can put his offer.

Zehir does make a few appearances and he is one of the prime movers in the story even though you don't know for sure until near the end that he has set events into motion. He has an interest in Zaltys. She has no interest in him. It is nice to see a fairly niche god like Zehir put in an appearance and advance his plots.

I found the Serrat family to be quite interesting (even though knowledge of them is limited) and I imagine some people will transplant them into their games. Their family is first and foremost dedicated to the family. The family is divided between three branches. The Travelers are responsible for going out and collecting the Terazul flowers in the jungle. The Guardians are responsible for protecting the family. They engage in thievery and assassination when needed. The Traders deal with the financial side of things and generally don't get their hands dirty like the other two branches. While their finances are now quite diverse, their foundation is the flowers. Every member is given food and shelter for life. If they prove capable, they are given responsibilites, a cut of the profits, and voting rights on family matters. The family treats adoptees and members by marriage the same as those born into the family. It is implied via a story about a lycanthropic uncle (who was originally adopted for the Guardians but later proved to be a whiz at accounting and was moved to the Traders) that Zaltys will still be accepted after everyone knows she is really a Pureblood. Most offspring follow in the steps of their parents (children of Guardians becomes Guardians, etc) but when their talents prove them worthy of being in another branch they are moved. The Serrats also treat soldiers and workers in their employ quite well and compensate them for life if they are seriously injured or rendered unable to work. The only unforgiveable crime is to harm the family.

Overall I liked the book. I have no major complaints. The characters were likeable. The plot was interesting and only at the end did it start to have hints of "save the world". The moral trials some of the characters have to go through were interesting and the logical consequence of the path they had chosen. I may be biased but I will consider anything with the Yuan Ti who I believe are seriously under used. It was nice to have an Underdark portion without every other word being Drow (and how super awesome and way better at everything they are). There are decent reasons for the powerful characters to be present and decent reasons for them to not be part of the action once it moves to the Underdark. Some people might be put off by the set up that sounds like a bad joke ("So, a Yuan Ti, a Dragonborn, an Eladrin, and a Tiefling walk into a bar...") but I thought it worked. I would read a follow up and hope that one is written.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code

Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest

swifty
Senior Scribe