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A review by dark_reader
Pools of Darkness by James M. Ward, Anne K. Brown
1.0
The 'Pools' series of Forgotten Realms novels skews more teenage than most. The heroes loom large, carry uncomplicated and unwavering motivations, and are more powerful than they have a right to be. The villains are buffoonish, one-dimensional, predictable, and uninteresting. The narrative wanders. Things happen, and eventually the big showdown takes place. (Guess who wins?). Enjoyment requires a suspension of criticism.
One might not expect great things from a video game tie-in novel sequel already tied into a fantasy role playing game campaign setting, and that one would be right. Pools of Darkness, the novel, is a direct sequel to the earlier Pool of Radiance, which itself was a video game tie-in, but Pools of Darkness, the video game, comes after a couple of other video game sequels to Pool of Radiance... I think? James Ward co-authored both books, but his writing partner changed here to Anne K. Brown, who stuck around for the third book as well, so I guess this effort was deemed a success.
Fans of Pool of Radiance will be pleased to see the return of the three heroes, Tarl, Shal and Ren. This novel takes place 10 years later. At the start (well, after the laughable prologue featuring a god acting like a whiny man-boy), the city they fought to save in the past is mysteriously ripped from the landscape and teleported to who-knows-where. Tarl and Shal, after a tantalizing sexytime scene, have to keep it together, while Ren (o' the Blade - worst last name ever, or just the most ridiculous?) is left on the outside and does his best to avoid assembling a new band of overpowered heroes to find and save his friends.
The one area that shines is battle descriptions. The many fights, small and large, are vivid and somewhat thrilling (although without a whiff of dramatic tension). Unfortunately they are also mostly disposable. The heroes encounter a band of monsters, perhaps take about two seconds to see through a veil of deception, epic battle ensues, victory! and then it's meaningless, at best very loosely linked to the primary threat.
Pacing is terrible; the stolen city of Phlan is trapped for several months in a dark cavern, and is assaulted perhaps three or four times? Any account of the city suffering under siege is absent. Character development is flat. Trust between 'hero' strangers was quickly established. There were countless campfire scenes, during which nobody's relationship advanced. Occasionally there were arguments about the plan of action which were resolved by reasonable discussion, which is better than the alternative presented, which was sustained petulance. The end missed several opportunities, such as revisiting the put-upon guard captain of the 'New Phlan' tent colony that Ren taunted earlier, and establishing any ongoing relationship with the new main characters.
Overall it feels like a tabletop campaign written out; the character classes (ranger, wizard, druid, paladin) each with a single 'interesting' twist, the random-seeming monster encounters on the way to a rapid final showdown, all could be drawn from the author's weekly home game. I have to wonder, too, what plot limitations were in place because of the video game upon which it is based.
(For reference or interpretation: I am reading the Forgotten Realms novels in publication order, for the first time, so my only points of reference within this series are earlier entries. I am currently up to 1992's releases).
One might not expect great things from a video game tie-in novel sequel already tied into a fantasy role playing game campaign setting, and that one would be right. Pools of Darkness, the novel, is a direct sequel to the earlier Pool of Radiance, which itself was a video game tie-in, but Pools of Darkness, the video game, comes after a couple of other video game sequels to Pool of Radiance... I think? James Ward co-authored both books, but his writing partner changed here to Anne K. Brown, who stuck around for the third book as well, so I guess this effort was deemed a success.
Fans of Pool of Radiance will be pleased to see the return of the three heroes, Tarl, Shal and Ren. This novel takes place 10 years later. At the start (well, after the laughable prologue featuring a god acting like a whiny man-boy), the city they fought to save in the past is mysteriously ripped from the landscape and teleported to who-knows-where. Tarl and Shal, after a tantalizing sexytime scene, have to keep it together, while Ren (o' the Blade - worst last name ever, or just the most ridiculous?) is left on the outside and does his best to avoid assembling a new band of overpowered heroes to find and save his friends.
The one area that shines is battle descriptions. The many fights, small and large, are vivid and somewhat thrilling (although without a whiff of dramatic tension). Unfortunately they are also mostly disposable. The heroes encounter a band of monsters, perhaps take about two seconds to see through a veil of deception, epic battle ensues, victory! and then it's meaningless, at best very loosely linked to the primary threat.
Pacing is terrible; the stolen city of Phlan is trapped for several months in a dark cavern, and is assaulted perhaps three or four times? Any account of the city suffering under siege is absent. Character development is flat. Trust between 'hero' strangers was quickly established. There were countless campfire scenes, during which nobody's relationship advanced. Occasionally there were arguments about the plan of action which were resolved by reasonable discussion, which is better than the alternative presented, which was sustained petulance. The end missed several opportunities, such as revisiting the put-upon guard captain of the 'New Phlan' tent colony that Ren taunted earlier, and establishing any ongoing relationship with the new main characters.
Overall it feels like a tabletop campaign written out; the character classes (ranger, wizard, druid, paladin) each with a single 'interesting' twist, the random-seeming monster encounters on the way to a rapid final showdown, all could be drawn from the author's weekly home game. I have to wonder, too, what plot limitations were in place because of the video game upon which it is based.
(For reference or interpretation: I am reading the Forgotten Realms novels in publication order, for the first time, so my only points of reference within this series are earlier entries. I am currently up to 1992's releases).