Customer Reviews

Artifact of Evil (Greyhawk Adventures Novels, Book 2)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed this book more because I am a Greyhawk fan than the actual quality of writing. This book is the sequel to "Saga of Old City" and picks up a couple of years later after Gord and his friends discovered the first of three keys or artifacts which will unleash the dreaded evil god named Tharizdun. The book details the fight to obtain the second key which leads to a chase across the Flanaess. Many forces are at work in this mad dash to control the face of the planet including Oerth's own demigod the evil Iuz as well as the Scarlet Brotherhood. Many important figures pop up in this book including the Catlord, Mordenkainen, Melf (as in Melf's Acid Arrow), and the circle of eight. The fate of the world tends to draw a party. The storyline recounted in this novel basically tells the story behind the Greyhawk Wars up to the fall of the Horned Society and the takeover of the Bandit Kingdoms. For those who play in the Greyhawk world, this novel could definitely liven up a campaign or just provide an interesting background into what has happened before. The story is intriguing, but the writing, while better than "Saga of Old City" still lacks artist polish. Bottom line, if you enjoy the Greyhawk setting and read "Saga of Old City" get this book; it is an enjoyable and quick read. However, if you aren't familiar with Greyhawk your best bet would be to skip it.

This may be the best fantasy series since Micheal Moorcock's Elric saga. The hero is not some goody-two shoes trying to save the realms. The plot is unpredictable and the characters are different. This is old school D&D written by the origonal master. If you can find the series you are in luck. I only with Erol Otus did the illustrations. Long live Gygax!

In books of this type i liked it very much and am still in search of the rest of the series..well written and very creative..many differnt plots and characters keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning...many things can be missed..I know I read the book two or three times..thank you for your time a fond reader of Gygax..

Second of the Gygax AD&D novels, Artifact is a sequel to Saga of Old City and AD&D in general.