shumphrey's review against another edition
3.0
Three stars for most of the book, an extra half star for the last 50 pages. Book two in a trilogy where the first book was written as a stand-alone novel, this book spends a lot of time setting up a need for a full trilogy. Many of the events are very predictable, but it does wrap up in a nice climactic battle and leaves me wanting to read the third book to see the fate of our heroes.
romankurys's review against another edition
4.0
Douglas Niles 2nd book of the Moonshae Trilogy did not disappoint. It was actually really good and pretty different from the first part. It felt like a whole new adventure with slight flashbacks to the original ones.
World of Forgotten Realms comes to life and makes me want to delve deeper.
I absolutely loved:
-multiple viewpoints, not just the "good guy" travelogue.
-in between Chapter short flashes of a god's mind. Once again, good and evil alike.
The only negative to this story was that is IS a travelogue at a core, which made me feel bored at about a half way point. There was no shortage of action, no "in-interesting" part that made me stop, if you will. It was just the knowledge that the hero will come here and discover this. Aha! Then hero will go there and discover that. Aha! The rinse/repeat.
Maybe I'm just growing a bit weary of fantasy travelogues? Who knows. Break or no break, I'm definitely going to read Part 3 in the future.
Definitely give this book a try, if for nothing else is to see how Forgotten Realms prose began :)
Roman "Ragnar"
World of Forgotten Realms comes to life and makes me want to delve deeper.
I absolutely loved:
-multiple viewpoints, not just the "good guy" travelogue.
-in between Chapter short flashes of a god's mind. Once again, good and evil alike.
The only negative to this story was that is IS a travelogue at a core, which made me feel bored at about a half way point. There was no shortage of action, no "in-interesting" part that made me stop, if you will. It was just the knowledge that the hero will come here and discover this. Aha! Then hero will go there and discover that. Aha! The rinse/repeat.
Maybe I'm just growing a bit weary of fantasy travelogues? Who knows. Break or no break, I'm definitely going to read Part 3 in the future.
Definitely give this book a try, if for nothing else is to see how Forgotten Realms prose began :)
Roman "Ragnar"
raechel's review against another edition
3.0
I like this book a little more than the first one in the series ( [b:Darkwalker on Moonshae|291628|Darkwalker on Moonshae (Forgotten Realms The Moonshae Trilogy, #1)|Douglas Niles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1304761003l/291628._SY75_.jpg|2179199] ), but it still has some glaring problems that you see in a lot of 80s/90s pulpy fantasy. All the women are either beautiful in an x way (in a youthful way, a gaunt way, a matronly way), or they're sadly hideous. There's also a lot more sexual assault hints or attempts than there were in the first book. Gross.
The pacing is better, in the first book it felt like it took the heroes over half the book to realize what the main plot was about. In this one action happens quickly, but it also gets resolved quickly. There's a lot of jumping around to other character perspectives, but it's usually just for a convenient thing that the hero discovers or thwarts.
It ends more cliffhanger-y than the first one, but I have a couple plot holes that really bugged me:
Two... if the king of Alaron has no authority on the other kings, why did Tristan and Pontswain so easily accept a drunkard's suggestion of going across the ocean to get his approval for who should be king? Why would they care?
Three... How were the other two kings killed within the last year but word had never reached Tristan or his dad?
And four... the prophecy that ultimately reveals Tristan will be the next high king talks about the four elements assisting him in the big fight at the end of the book. But Robyn is literally the one responsible for these things happening because she can wield powerful magic. So why isn't she the next high king???
If you're dedicated to pushing through this series, it's a D&D adventure of a read... but man these plotholes and gross misogyny make it a bumpy ride.
The pacing is better, in the first book it felt like it took the heroes over half the book to realize what the main plot was about. In this one action happens quickly, but it also gets resolved quickly. There's a lot of jumping around to other character perspectives, but it's usually just for a convenient thing that the hero discovers or thwarts.
It ends more cliffhanger-y than the first one, but I have a couple plot holes that really bugged me:
Spoiler
One... how was the Moonwell so easily polluted/corrupted in the first book, but it takes a massive army of the undead lead by a priest of Bhaal to barely reach one to corrupt in this book?Two... if the king of Alaron has no authority on the other kings, why did Tristan and Pontswain so easily accept a drunkard's suggestion of going across the ocean to get his approval for who should be king? Why would they care?
Three... How were the other two kings killed within the last year but word had never reached Tristan or his dad?
And four... the prophecy that ultimately reveals Tristan will be the next high king talks about the four elements assisting him in the big fight at the end of the book. But Robyn is literally the one responsible for these things happening because she can wield powerful magic. So why isn't she the next high king???
If you're dedicated to pushing through this series, it's a D&D adventure of a read... but man these plotholes and gross misogyny make it a bumpy ride.
mw2k's review against another edition
3.0
A solid 3 out of 5. A more focused effort than the first book, but the characterisations are straight out of a mannequin factory. All good fun, though.
romankurys's review
4.0
Douglas Niles 2nd book of the Moonshae Trilogy did not disappoint. It was actually really good and pretty different from the first part. It felt like a whole new adventure with slight flashbacks to the original ones.
World of Forgotten Realms comes to life and makes me want to delve deeper.
I absolutely loved:
-multiple viewpoints, not just the "good guy" travelogue.
-in between Chapter short flashes of a god's mind. Once again, good and evil alike.
The only negative to this story was that is IS a travelogue at a core, which made me feel bored at about a half way point. There was no shortage of action, no "in-interesting" part that made me stop, if you will. It was just the knowledge that the hero will come here and discover this. Aha! Then hero will go there and discover that. Aha! The rinse/repeat.
Maybe I'm just growing a bit weary of fantasy travelogues? Who knows. Break or no break, I'm definitely going to read Part 3 in the future.
Definitely give this book a try, if for nothing else is to see how Forgotten Realms prose began :)
Roman "Ragnar"
World of Forgotten Realms comes to life and makes me want to delve deeper.
I absolutely loved:
-multiple viewpoints, not just the "good guy" travelogue.
-in between Chapter short flashes of a god's mind. Once again, good and evil alike.
The only negative to this story was that is IS a travelogue at a core, which made me feel bored at about a half way point. There was no shortage of action, no "in-interesting" part that made me stop, if you will. It was just the knowledge that the hero will come here and discover this. Aha! Then hero will go there and discover that. Aha! The rinse/repeat.
Maybe I'm just growing a bit weary of fantasy travelogues? Who knows. Break or no break, I'm definitely going to read Part 3 in the future.
Definitely give this book a try, if for nothing else is to see how Forgotten Realms prose began :)
Roman "Ragnar"
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