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max343's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dark_reader's review
1.0
Although this was slightly less of a mess than the prior book in this series, [b:Pools of Darkness|291520|Pools of Darkness (Forgotten Realms Pools, #2)|James M. Ward|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1351568740s/291520.jpg|282837], it was still a mess. Call it Pool of Radiance: The Next Generation. Here, the children of the original Heroes of Phlan, Tarl, Shan, and Ren o' the Blades, take center stage, but they do not exactly shine. The old folks even hold them back, spending their time being morose and self-defeating (or unconscious), forcing the kids to pander to their pity parties. All of the characters new and old are extremely one-dimensional and uninteresting.
The writing is slightly improved, making it less painful to read than its predecessor, but not much. The whole book (and series) is way too dungeon-master-y in its storytelling. What works at the RPG table doesn't translate well into a novel. There is good descriptive vocabulary, but it comes out as awkward use of language. Random, inconsequential encounters take up page space unnecessarily, such as (not a spoiler because it is meaningless) when Elaine encounters a stone golem in the mountains, and bypasses the encounter in a way that I guess is meant to be amusing but isn't. This has absolutely zero to do with the rest of the book and has no impact whatsoever. There are many cases such as this. There is frequent telling, not showing, in the worst way. For example, there were multiple instances such as "Listle tossed a few choice insults [and]... imaginative taunts". Don't tell me that, write out the freaking taunts! A new party member was introduced only 100 pages before the end of the book. There are so many examples of what not to do in crafting a novel, these are only the most glaring.
Clearly, James Ward is a better RPG designer than an author, given that he required writing partners to produce these three books and even then the results were terrible. There is one more novel coming up in this series ([b:The Ruins of Myth Drannor|67806|The Ruins of Myth Drannor (Pools #4)|Carrie Bebris|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388489383s/67806.jpg|65754]) which fortunately has a different author. I fully expect it to also be terrible, but we shall see in time.
The writing is slightly improved, making it less painful to read than its predecessor, but not much. The whole book (and series) is way too dungeon-master-y in its storytelling. What works at the RPG table doesn't translate well into a novel. There is good descriptive vocabulary, but it comes out as awkward use of language. Random, inconsequential encounters take up page space unnecessarily, such as (not a spoiler because it is meaningless) when Elaine encounters a stone golem in the mountains, and bypasses the encounter in a way that I guess is meant to be amusing but isn't. This has absolutely zero to do with the rest of the book and has no impact whatsoever. There are many cases such as this. There is frequent telling, not showing, in the worst way. For example, there were multiple instances such as "Listle tossed a few choice insults [and]... imaginative taunts". Don't tell me that, write out the freaking taunts! A new party member was introduced only 100 pages before the end of the book. There are so many examples of what not to do in crafting a novel, these are only the most glaring.
Clearly, James Ward is a better RPG designer than an author, given that he required writing partners to produce these three books and even then the results were terrible. There is one more novel coming up in this series ([b:The Ruins of Myth Drannor|67806|The Ruins of Myth Drannor (Pools #4)|Carrie Bebris|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388489383s/67806.jpg|65754]) which fortunately has a different author. I fully expect it to also be terrible, but we shall see in time.
mw2k's review
2.0
More of the same. More poorly defined characters, more popcorn action, more deliciously evil bad guys. There's nothing deep and/or meaningful presented here in this novel, which is how most of these D&D novels go.
It's a fun and easy quick read, but it's nothing more than that.
It's a fun and easy quick read, but it's nothing more than that.
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