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zav3nd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
It starts pretty slow, starts to pick up about halfway through. Then turns into a lot of runaround. It's alright and has it's moments.
Seems to fit in after siege of darkness, but 4 more books before getting back to Drizzt might be too much.
Seems to fit in after siege of darkness, but 4 more books before getting back to Drizzt might be too much.
tamzy6's review against another edition
3.0
I'm new to Salvatore and this book is a fairly pleasant read, along with very well written battle scenes. The pace picked up considerably towards the end, leading to a climactic battle in the catacombs. As what a few of his fans have noticed, his writing style for The Cleric Quintet is a lot more YA than his usual works (but I'll discover that for myself in due time).
jay_sy's review against another edition
3.0
I found Canticle to be a fairly entertaining read, though it seems to be geared towards a younger audience. The setting in the library was fairly interesting, with glimpses into the different kinds of people and religion in the region, and the characters were mostly likeable though the comic relief dwarves were a little too much for me. On top of that, because of certain things that happened later in the story, the stakes tended to feel very low.
It was otherwise a quick read, and might be enjoyed by younger people looking to get into fantasy or with an interest in D&D.
It was otherwise a quick read, and might be enjoyed by younger people looking to get into fantasy or with an interest in D&D.
ferrisscottr's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really good book and a nice way to start a series.
First book in a five book series (The Cleric Quintet) set in the Forgotten Realms.
The book revolves around two things.
The first is Cadderly, our hero, a 20 year old cleric who has grown up at the Edificant Library. He's joined by a wonderful cast of characters - Danica, Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder and of course my favorite character - Percival (yes he's a squirrel).
The second is the quest to unleash the Chaos Curse by a bunch of the bad guys at Trinity Castle.
And now we've got an R.A. Salvatore book - amazing characters, good guys vs. bad guys, amazing fight sequences.
You know what you're getting when you pick up a Salvatore book and this one does not disappoint. Looking forward to continuing on the journey with Cadderly and his friends.
First book in a five book series (The Cleric Quintet) set in the Forgotten Realms.
The book revolves around two things.
The first is Cadderly, our hero, a 20 year old cleric who has grown up at the Edificant Library. He's joined by a wonderful cast of characters - Danica, Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder and of course my favorite character - Percival (yes he's a squirrel).
The second is the quest to unleash the Chaos Curse by a bunch of the bad guys at Trinity Castle.
And now we've got an R.A. Salvatore book - amazing characters, good guys vs. bad guys, amazing fight sequences.
You know what you're getting when you pick up a Salvatore book and this one does not disappoint. Looking forward to continuing on the journey with Cadderly and his friends.
tkat's review against another edition
4.0
I finally got a chance to pick up a Realms classic, the Cleric Quintet by R.A. Salvatore and I loved it. I actually came into Realms with Salvatore's Drizz't series, but only just now read the Quintet in order to catch up to Ghost King.
I didn't realize until now just how much I missed the original Realms books before D&D turned everything on its head and tossed half of the cannon out the window along with a lot of major gods.
This is one story that last through five books about a young scholar named Cadderly who finds the love of a god with his friends by his side. Young Cadderly was abandoned at the Edificant Library, a place of magic and learning for all goodly races and home of the brother gods Deneir and Oghma. Cadderly becomes the Chosen of Deneir after defending the Library against one threat and breaking out from his naive shell and going forth into the world to defeat another threat before returning to shell of his former home and rebuilding it for future generations.
Cadderly's friends make his journeys to and fro bearable for the young priest. The dwarven brothers Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder were cooks to the library before they followed Cadderly on his quests. They provide much needed and welcome comic relief, what with no-nonsense axe weilding Ivan trying to keep his club wielding brother with druidic (or doo-dad) intention in line and Cadderly safe.
Danica Mausipont is the love of Cadderly's life and a highly trained monk who was sudying at the Library where she and Cadderly met. Deadly with nothing more than her own hands and fists, Danica is often the one who gives Cadderly the strength to continue on his chosen path when he feels as though he has nothing left to give.
Shayleigh is a beautiful elf maiden that the four Library companions meet within the second book and joins them on their journeys through the third to fifth. She rounds out the party as being the lightfooted archer and doesn't really play pivitol roles as far as I can tell throughout the series.
These along with a few other key characters make for a wonderfully absorbing series worthy of the name of Salvatore. No Spell Plague, no murdered Mistress of Magic, but the Realms as they were in the begining and as they were always meant to be. Loved every second of it.
I didn't realize until now just how much I missed the original Realms books before D&D turned everything on its head and tossed half of the cannon out the window along with a lot of major gods.
This is one story that last through five books about a young scholar named Cadderly who finds the love of a god with his friends by his side. Young Cadderly was abandoned at the Edificant Library, a place of magic and learning for all goodly races and home of the brother gods Deneir and Oghma. Cadderly becomes the Chosen of Deneir after defending the Library against one threat and breaking out from his naive shell and going forth into the world to defeat another threat before returning to shell of his former home and rebuilding it for future generations.
Cadderly's friends make his journeys to and fro bearable for the young priest. The dwarven brothers Ivan and Pikel Bouldershoulder were cooks to the library before they followed Cadderly on his quests. They provide much needed and welcome comic relief, what with no-nonsense axe weilding Ivan trying to keep his club wielding brother with druidic (or doo-dad) intention in line and Cadderly safe.
Danica Mausipont is the love of Cadderly's life and a highly trained monk who was sudying at the Library where she and Cadderly met. Deadly with nothing more than her own hands and fists, Danica is often the one who gives Cadderly the strength to continue on his chosen path when he feels as though he has nothing left to give.
Shayleigh is a beautiful elf maiden that the four Library companions meet within the second book and joins them on their journeys through the third to fifth. She rounds out the party as being the lightfooted archer and doesn't really play pivitol roles as far as I can tell throughout the series.
These along with a few other key characters make for a wonderfully absorbing series worthy of the name of Salvatore. No Spell Plague, no murdered Mistress of Magic, but the Realms as they were in the begining and as they were always meant to be. Loved every second of it.
ghostmuppet's review against another edition
4.0
I read this series when it first came out and enjoyed it then, but not as much as some of the other material i was reading at the time (which included Drizzt books, Dragonlance and David Eddings).
This is a light fun book, following a talented young priest in a library. The library is the target of a Chaos Curse, and the priests start to do weird things. Our hero, along with a couple of Dwarven brothers, a druid and a monk, help to save the day.
This is a pure D&D book, with some well known spells from the second edition being used (warp wood, healing etc). The characters are classic D&D as well, as well as the bad guys (imps, necromancers, skeletons etc).
All in all, this was a fun and still holds up today.
This is a light fun book, following a talented young priest in a library. The library is the target of a Chaos Curse, and the priests start to do weird things. Our hero, along with a couple of Dwarven brothers, a druid and a monk, help to save the day.
This is a pure D&D book, with some well known spells from the second edition being used (warp wood, healing etc). The characters are classic D&D as well, as well as the bad guys (imps, necromancers, skeletons etc).
All in all, this was a fun and still holds up today.
kxu65's review against another edition
4.0
This series is suppose to be his version of the five book series done by the author, [a:David Eddings|8732|David Eddings|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1223870462p2/8732.jpg]. What I like about the book is that it is totally different in structure with Eddings five book series, other than the real quest starts in the second. The book is not flawed like Eddings, where it is basically a set up on the background and history of the world or characters living their daily live, which could be done in the first 50 pages at best. So the plot for me does not move. This book is the exact opposite of a Eddings book. It is a totally separate story filled with action, mystery, and adventure.
trinityb2021's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
stoicloofah's review against another edition
3.0
It's an enjoyable, easy read. Its worth reading if you are a fan of the Forgotten Realms, but I would recommend starting somewhere else if you are new to the setting