ferrisscottr's review against another edition
4.0
Solid four star book in this, the fourth book (of five) in the Cleric Quintet series.
This is the big showdown (not really sure what's left to do in the fifth book) where Cadderly, Danica, Ivan & Pikel Bouldershoulder descend on Castle Trinity and battle it out with Aballister.
Salvatore drops everything on the page - we've got dragons, chimera's, hydra's, orcs, goblins, magic showdowns. Good stuff.
Why not a five star rating? Because nothing really happened with the characters. No growth. No development. Not much real interaction. Salvatore's strength (including his battle sequences) has always been character and it almost pains me to say that this book lacked a little on the character front.
Still...a really good read. I recommend it. I can't wait to get to the next book in the series.
This is the big showdown (not really sure what's left to do in the fifth book) where Cadderly, Danica, Ivan & Pikel Bouldershoulder descend on Castle Trinity and battle it out with Aballister.
Salvatore drops everything on the page - we've got dragons, chimera's, hydra's, orcs, goblins, magic showdowns. Good stuff.
Why not a five star rating? Because nothing really happened with the characters. No growth. No development. Not much real interaction. Salvatore's strength (including his battle sequences) has always been character and it almost pains me to say that this book lacked a little on the character front.
Still...a really good read. I recommend it. I can't wait to get to the next book in the series.
cquinnsnaps's review against another edition
5.0
R.A. Salvatore excels at the descriptions of battle scenes which I enjoy. As a D&D player I like that I feel almost present at the table during the strategic fight scenes the characters play. I wish there was a little more dialogue and character development of the minor players because Cadderly's inner monologue can be a little repetitive. I don't enjoy that he just has to think hard and the problems he's facing are immediately solved, it could be a better story if he relied on his companions a bit more.
thomasf33's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
dark_reader's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fast read, I suspect in part to a sparser font than other novels in this publishing line (I will have to do a side-by-side comparison to confirm), but also because it is action-packed from start to finish. Of course, because this is a [a:R. A. Salvatore|1023510|R.A. Salvatore|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207159077p2/1023510.jpg] novel, the main character finds plenty of time for pained self-doubt, but at least he does it while on the go.
This quintet of novels started off without over-powered superhero characters, unlike the Drizzt books, which I very much enjoyed, but at this point there is simply no imagining a chance of stopping the heroes. Cadderly seems to have gone, in RPG terms, from cleric level 2 to 20 in a matter of months. Whereas he started off the series armed by nothing but cleverness and his self-invented tools (like his multi-yo-yo), he now has access to the most powerful clerical spells. With a new giant ally sporting a ring of regeneration, the indomitable Bouldershoulder brothers, and Cadderly's level 20 monk girlfriend, not even an army literally thousands-strong can apparently stand against them.
In truth, they had a little help to start working on this army. I was pleasantly surprised by the side path that Cadderly took the party along in the first half of the book, (spoilers ahead)
So, what was otherwise a joyous, pulp thrill ride was somewhat spoiled by the ridiculous invulnerability of this crew. It strained the most ardent attempts at suspension of disbelief. Still, there were several enjoyable elements to this book. I enjoyed the fact that we saw a final showdown with the series's primary threat in the penultimate book. I predict that this frees up the final book to take a very different tone, which I anticipate will be more character-driven. Despite their absurd power levels and Cadderly's constant internal debate (so, so like Drizzt's at this point), I have come to enjoy these characters. Another element that I found very well done was the very natural expression of D&D clerical spells through Cadderly's experience of the 'Deneirian song'. It is a welcome interpretation and a hallmark of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms books, in that D&D lore and rules are well-hidden in his works, giving them broader appeal.
This quintet of novels started off without over-powered superhero characters, unlike the Drizzt books, which I very much enjoyed, but at this point there is simply no imagining a chance of stopping the heroes. Cadderly seems to have gone, in RPG terms, from cleric level 2 to 20 in a matter of months. Whereas he started off the series armed by nothing but cleverness and his self-invented tools (like his multi-yo-yo), he now has access to the most powerful clerical spells. With a new giant ally sporting a ring of regeneration, the indomitable Bouldershoulder brothers, and Cadderly's level 20 monk girlfriend, not even an army literally thousands-strong can apparently stand against them.
In truth, they had a little help to start working on this army. I was pleasantly surprised by the side path that Cadderly took the party along in the first half of the book, (spoilers ahead)
Spoiler
to face an ancient red dragon. Surviving that encounter and achieving the dragon's aid by use of what I interpret as a 'change alignment' spell was dramatic enough. But taking the dragon for a joy ride, using it to decimate a goblin army, then slaying it through another tricksy application of magic really took things too far. And as long as we're in a spoiler field, I was annoyed by the undead reincarnation of Ghost, given that the main party never encountered this powerful animated spirit other than inside the Ghearufu. The only purpose this specter served, plotwise, was to give something for Castle Trinity's players to track, given that it was decimated before the key physical encounter that it should have had could occur.So, what was otherwise a joyous, pulp thrill ride was somewhat spoiled by the ridiculous invulnerability of this crew. It strained the most ardent attempts at suspension of disbelief. Still, there were several enjoyable elements to this book. I enjoyed the fact that we saw a final showdown with the series's primary threat in the penultimate book. I predict that this frees up the final book to take a very different tone, which I anticipate will be more character-driven. Despite their absurd power levels and Cadderly's constant internal debate (so, so like Drizzt's at this point), I have come to enjoy these characters. Another element that I found very well done was the very natural expression of D&D clerical spells through Cadderly's experience of the 'Deneirian song'. It is a welcome interpretation and a hallmark of Salvatore's Forgotten Realms books, in that D&D lore and rules are well-hidden in his works, giving them broader appeal.
wizardmacdonald's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
honniker's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this next installment though it did take me longer to get through than I would've liked just because real life got in the way.
Spoiler
I found the encounter between Abaillaster and Cadderly quite exciting and was kind of surprised that Cadderly defeated his father as I knew there was another book after this. I must admit I'd quite forgotten about Rufo and Druzil and I'm looking forward to seeing what becomes of them and the hidden Chaos Curse in the final installment.ghostmuppet's review against another edition
3.0
Not as enjoyable as the previous books, and much more 'game written up'. Cadderly is now a high level cleric - in the space of a few days. Yes, he has been reading the book, but even so - Holy Word!
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