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49 reviews
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
2.0
I found the first half of Senlin Ascends to be a nostalgic adventure, despite the unique and vivid world I'd only just been introduced to. Senlin's arrival at the Tower and his efforts through the Basement, Parlor, and Baths threw me back to other such moments in fantasy -- Alice falling down the rabbit hole and Dorothy arriving in Oz. Similar to both Alice and Dorothy, Senlin's determination is both the driving factor for his own goals and my personal endearment to his story. Yet as Senlin's determination was stymied the further he climbed, due to doubt, lack of means, and betrayal, so stymied was also my investment in his story.
It began in the Baths, where Senlin dawdled, surrounding himself with secondary characters and their secrets. While Senlin waited, while I waited, something in the story changed. The adventure itself faded as Senlin all but faded out, his motivations fogging. The question of what had happened to Marya remained the pulse of the story, but Senlin himself stopped keeping the beat. And then came my least favorite aspect of the book, the culling of the heartbeat itself.
Marya had simply been lost, too. All of the mystery surrounding whether she had chosen to separate from Senlin herself, whether this was a plot for her to find a new life at the center of it all, or an effort to challenge her husband for his betterment -- quashed. And worse yet, she was effectively placed into subservience, hinted to be at risk of sexual violence, and then absolved of all agency for the remaining length of the book. It may well be an inch from a "fridge."
That Senlin doesn't acknowledge in the least the gravity of what's changed, that his hope for Marya to have been lost or already gone home is gone and replaced by the reality that she's been taken, likely forced to be another man's wife, at risk of horrors indescribable. That he puts more thought, more emotional reaction, into a nude painting of Marya rather than the reality of her situation, well, it rather put me off Senlin and his efforts.
For Senlin, it was just what had to happen to get him out of the baths and up to New Babel, but to me, it was a defining moment. I continued reading in the hopes that Senlin would acknowledge that the reasoning for his entire venture, to be once more with the woman he loved, had shifted towards an effort against the tower itself, that his view of his wife --especially with his emotional reliance on the painting -- was growing increasingly objectified.
New Babel fogged over in my reading, even through the flashy clash of threats that ended the book. I kept hope Marya would somehow make an appearance, that she'd be given agency or that there was yet another twist to unveil undercutting the story of her disappearance early. No such luck. I remain stumped as to why the disturbing nature of her kidnapping, her being sold to be a powerful man's wife, was left so understated. Why Senlin either misheard or has decided to ignore just what that implies. With that being the lasting thought I have after finishing the book, can I reasonably say I enjoyed the adventure along the way?
It began in the Baths, where Senlin dawdled, surrounding himself with secondary characters and their secrets. While Senlin waited, while I waited, something in the story changed. The adventure itself faded as Senlin all but faded out, his motivations fogging. The question of what had happened to Marya remained the pulse of the story, but Senlin himself stopped keeping the beat. And then came my least favorite aspect of the book, the culling of the heartbeat itself.
Marya had simply been lost, too. All of the mystery surrounding whether she had chosen to separate from Senlin herself, whether this was a plot for her to find a new life at the center of it all, or an effort to challenge her husband for his betterment -- quashed. And worse yet, she was effectively placed into subservience, hinted to be at risk of sexual violence, and then absolved of all agency for the remaining length of the book. It may well be an inch from a "fridge."
That Senlin doesn't acknowledge in the least the gravity of what's changed, that his hope for Marya to have been lost or already gone home is gone and replaced by the reality that she's been taken, likely forced to be another man's wife, at risk of horrors indescribable. That he puts more thought, more emotional reaction, into a nude painting of Marya rather than the reality of her situation, well, it rather put me off Senlin and his efforts.
For Senlin, it was just what had to happen to get him out of the baths and up to New Babel, but to me, it was a defining moment. I continued reading in the hopes that Senlin would acknowledge that the reasoning for his entire venture, to be once more with the woman he loved, had shifted towards an effort against the tower itself, that his view of his wife --especially with his emotional reliance on the painting -- was growing increasingly objectified.
New Babel fogged over in my reading, even through the flashy clash of threats that ended the book. I kept hope Marya would somehow make an appearance, that she'd be given agency or that there was yet another twist to unveil undercutting the story of her disappearance early. No such luck. I remain stumped as to why the disturbing nature of her kidnapping, her being sold to be a powerful man's wife, was left so understated. Why Senlin either misheard or has decided to ignore just what that implies. With that being the lasting thought I have after finishing the book, can I reasonably say I enjoyed the adventure along the way?
Gauntlgrym by R.A. Salvatore
1.0
This is the first Drizzt book that fully departs from the reliable cast readers have grown to love over two decades of book, but beyond the lack of familiar faces Cattebrie, Regis, and Wulfgar, there's something much more absent from Gauntlegrym that's much less easy to forgive.
Through thick and thin, the stories of Drizzt and his companions have espoused a set of values that not only defined the Companions as heroes among heroes but also created an empathy that made flipping pages as natural as breathing. Yet not only have those values flew from Drizzt, described as a symptom of his loss of Cattebrie, but so have they seemingly escaped from the text itself. The heart of the legend of Drizzt is not to be found in Gauntlegrym.
It's not the diverse cast of characters found in Gauntlegrym, from Shadovar to Vampires and even a mysterious assassin that's all-too-familiar, all of whom are not provided enough page space to build into compelling replacements for the Companions. It's not the story itself, a return to the legendary dwarven homeland of Gauntlegrym and the doom of its buried secret. It's that despite it all, no one page or chapter felt, no character or conclusion, felt necessary to the story beyond getting it all over with.
Even Bruenor, the last remaining vestige of the heart of The Companions given Drizzt's current lethargy, all but sighs to enter the city he's hunted for decades to fill the hole that is his dead children. It should have been, well, everything, but instead it felt like only what was necessary to get the old dwarf in the ground already.
Maybe this is a necessary misstep for the sake of resetting the series. The Companions truly died with the Spellplague and Gauntlegrym is stuck microwaving the leftovers for dinner. But, and I'll say it bluntly, these characters were owed better. I expect future Drizzt books to make good on the disappointment found in Gauntlegrym, but that doesn't -- it shouldn't -- earn any forgiveness for the book itself.
Through thick and thin, the stories of Drizzt and his companions have espoused a set of values that not only defined the Companions as heroes among heroes but also created an empathy that made flipping pages as natural as breathing. Yet not only have those values flew from Drizzt, described as a symptom of his loss of Cattebrie, but so have they seemingly escaped from the text itself. The heart of the legend of Drizzt is not to be found in Gauntlegrym.
It's not the diverse cast of characters found in Gauntlegrym, from Shadovar to Vampires and even a mysterious assassin that's all-too-familiar, all of whom are not provided enough page space to build into compelling replacements for the Companions. It's not the story itself, a return to the legendary dwarven homeland of Gauntlegrym and the doom of its buried secret. It's that despite it all, no one page or chapter felt, no character or conclusion, felt necessary to the story beyond getting it all over with.
Even Bruenor, the last remaining vestige of the heart of The Companions given Drizzt's current lethargy, all but sighs to enter the city he's hunted for decades to fill the hole that is his dead children. It should have been, well, everything, but instead it felt like only what was necessary to get the old dwarf in the ground already.
Maybe this is a necessary misstep for the sake of resetting the series. The Companions truly died with the Spellplague and Gauntlegrym is stuck microwaving the leftovers for dinner. But, and I'll say it bluntly, these characters were owed better. I expect future Drizzt books to make good on the disappointment found in Gauntlegrym, but that doesn't -- it shouldn't -- earn any forgiveness for the book itself.
Neverwinter by R.A. Salvatore
1.0
The Neverwinter saga continues in, err, Neverwinter, as Drizzt continues to struggle with the person he has become since the fall of his beloved Companions. It turns out Drizzt isn't too different, only instead of conviction and faith -- faith in loved ones, honor, and the free-spirited values of his god -- he believes in being a boring plot device.
Neverwinter is more the story of Dahlia, Drizzt's new romantic interest, and her pursuit of vengeance against those who have wronged her. At first, the couple travels to Luscan, where they, uh, get into a fight. And then leave. Then the couple finally pursues Dahlia's most-hated target, Sylora, who is very evil. They kill her. Drizzt kills things along the way. Also, they find a very much still alive Entreri, the perfect device to shift Dahlia towards her actual most-hated target, Alegni.
There are more plot points that happen in Neverwinter, of course, but they all feel like wheels spinning in the snow, like a stalemate in Checkers where players move their pieces back and forth. Alegni moves his forces around, Sylora moves her forces around, but in the end Neverwinter is Sylora's turn to die and Alegni will have to wait for a sequel, if it isn't Valindra the lich. She was around too in this book, though she may as well have not been.
The heart of the issue is that Drizzt books live and die on the empathy that Salvatore is able to instill in the characters. The action is assumed, but inconsequential. Everyone knows Drizzt will win out the day. But early Drizzt books mattered because the reader genuinely cared about he and his friends and the harm that might come to them. Sure, they likely wouldn't die, but there are emotional costs that come with adventuring in the Forgotten Realms. Those emotions remain wholly absent in Neverwinter, much like in Gauntlegrym.
Even Dahlia, who by all means should be a complex and deep character given the extent of her background, is shallow and uninteresting. The problem is that she cares for nothing. And that Drizzt finds this attractive, that Drizzt all but abandons his ideals and views of the world to pursue Dahlia, isn't just boring but also disrespectful to the books and characters that came before.
Neverwinter is more the story of Dahlia, Drizzt's new romantic interest, and her pursuit of vengeance against those who have wronged her. At first, the couple travels to Luscan, where they, uh, get into a fight. And then leave. Then the couple finally pursues Dahlia's most-hated target, Sylora, who is very evil. They kill her. Drizzt kills things along the way. Also, they find a very much still alive Entreri, the perfect device to shift Dahlia towards her actual most-hated target, Alegni.
There are more plot points that happen in Neverwinter, of course, but they all feel like wheels spinning in the snow, like a stalemate in Checkers where players move their pieces back and forth. Alegni moves his forces around, Sylora moves her forces around, but in the end Neverwinter is Sylora's turn to die and Alegni will have to wait for a sequel, if it isn't Valindra the lich. She was around too in this book, though she may as well have not been.
The heart of the issue is that Drizzt books live and die on the empathy that Salvatore is able to instill in the characters. The action is assumed, but inconsequential. Everyone knows Drizzt will win out the day. But early Drizzt books mattered because the reader genuinely cared about he and his friends and the harm that might come to them. Sure, they likely wouldn't die, but there are emotional costs that come with adventuring in the Forgotten Realms. Those emotions remain wholly absent in Neverwinter, much like in Gauntlegrym.
Even Dahlia, who by all means should be a complex and deep character given the extent of her background, is shallow and uninteresting. The problem is that she cares for nothing. And that Drizzt finds this attractive, that Drizzt all but abandons his ideals and views of the world to pursue Dahlia, isn't just boring but also disrespectful to the books and characters that came before.