Customer Reviews

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (Forgotten Realms)

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

 

 

The novelization of the popular RP computer game Baldur's Gate is perhaps one of the worst series I have ever managed to read. The first two books of the series were written by Philip Athens. The intricate story line of the game itself as well as the many interesting characters that populate the game all went missing in Mr. Athens' books. I could find no redeeming value in the first two books. The main character was poorly conceived and never fleshed out. Subplots and any thoughts on what it means to be the child of a dead God are brushed aside without a second thought. Given the mangling of the story in the first two books one has to wonder if Mr. Athens even bothered to play the game itself before tossing off his forgettable stories.

Athens was thankfully replaced as author for the third book by Drew Karpyshyn. Sadly the destruction was so complete that there was little left to salvage. Mr. Karpyshyn's writing is several steps up from Athens. The problem of this third book is not the talents of Mr. Karpyshyn rather it is the horrible and incoherent mess of first two books of the series. The very fact that Mr. Karpyshyn could continue the story and bring the tale to its conclusion speaks very well of his talents.

It is very sad that it is only in the last half of the last book of the series that some of the themes of the game actually make an appearance. The nature of good and evil, the possibility of redemption finally get some thought put to them. The notion that what makes an individual a hero are not things one is born with but arise out of the choices we make. Unfortunately this attempt to redeem the series comes far to late.

Chose to play the game and don't bother with the books.

This novel is the third in a trilogy based (loosely some say!) on the Balder's Gate computer games. The plot is: the god Bhaal, of the Forgotten Realms D&D game setting, the deity of murder, spawned hundreds of children of various species (polymorphing himself as necessary) before he was killed; a decade on, they are now adults and adolescents and his former high priestess, the Chosen of Bhaal, has gathered together five of the most powerful "Bhaalspawn" ("the Five") in a plot to slaughter all of the others, releasing what fragments of "the essence of Bhaal" were contained within them. The Chosen's goal is the rebirth of Bhaal from the re-asssembled bits o' Bhaal. The goal of the Five is to suck up Bhaal essence from their half-sibs and become super-villains.

The novel opens with Bhaalspawn Abdel Adrian, around whom the trilogy revolves, travelling through a forest with his half-sister (from whom he sucked out the Bhaal juice in one of the earlier books) and his lover WHO IS A BEAUTIFUL HALF-ELF. We know that she is a HALF-ELF and BEAUTIFUL because author Karpyshyn *tells us* that she is -- often. Abdel Adrian is BIG AND STRONG AND MUSCULAR; we know this because author Karpyshyn tells us that he is every second page or so. He is also INVULNERABLE TO MELEE ATTACKS; we know this because Karpyshyn tells us ... constantly, apparently believing that anyone who would read this book must be doing so only because it is named after a video game and must therefore suffer from such severe Attention Defecit Disorder that if something is not repeated at least twice in every three pages the reader will forget it. Did I mention that Abdel Is BIG AND STRONG AND MUSCULAR? Because he is. And his girlfriend is a BEAUTIFUL HALF-ELF. Who loves him despite his being a Bhaalspawn and prone to suddenly turning into a four-armed bug which is twelve feet tall and prone to quoting Kafka. The bug, called The Ravager, is BIG AND STRONG AND MUSCULAR and delights in slaughter, which is awkward for Abdel's half-sister and his girlfriend (who is a BEUTIFUL HALF-ELF, by the way).

BIG, STRONG, MUSCULAR Abdel, his half-sister and Abdel's BEAUTIFUL HALF-ELF girlfriend are attacked by one of the Five, who is killed within four pages, so don't worry about her name. She uses rune-inscribed arrows to shoot Abdel's BIG, MUSCULAR, STRONG body, causing wounds which don't heal. This surprises him, because his body HEALS ITS OWN DAMAGE (we know this because Karpyshyn tells us at least four times in every single chapter). Surprised that the arrows prevent his BIG, STRONG, MUSCULAR BODY from HEALING ITS OWN DAMAGE, Abdel goes to some nether plane and there meets his dead half-brother -- another Bhaalspawn, whom he had killed in Book 1 or 2 -- and lets him have some Bhaal juice, which makes him come back to life. This half-brother, Sarevok, is an essential character because Abdel is as stupid as a brick and couldn't figure out that when you are in a nether plane in which *nothing* exists except for five doors hanging in mid-nothingness, the way to get home is to click your heels and say ... I mean, the way to get home is to OPEN A FRIGGIN' DOOR WHICH HAS YOUR HOME ON THE OTHER SIDE AND STEP THROUGH. Sarevok, who wears BLADED ARMOR -- which has BLADES on it, don't forget, because those BLADES will be important later on! -- tells his BIG, STRONG, MUSCULAR half-brother to open the door which has the big neon sign reading "THIS WAY TO THE FOREST WHERE YOUR HALF-SISTER AND BEUATIFUL HALF-ELF GIRLFRIEND ARE LOOKING FOR YOU," and there is the forest where his half-sister and BEAUTIFUL HALF-ELF girlfriend are wondering where his BIG, STRONG, MUSCULAR BODY (which HEALS ITS OWN DAMAGE, remember) has got to! What a surprise! (Bet you didn't see *that one* coming from five pages earlier!) The four of them then go to Saradush, where lots of Bhaalspawn are gathered.

Saradush is under siege, but they manage to walk through a sewer outflow and enter the city. The sewer is large enough for Sarevok, who wears BLADED ARMOR and Abdel, who is BIG AND STRONG AND MUSCULAR (and seven feet tall, by the way) to walk through with no problem. Twenty thousand besieging soldiers failed to notice this open grate in the wall at any time in the past six months, presumably because Karpyshyn didn't write up a neon sign for it, saying, "THIS WAY TO THE SECRET ENTRANCE!!! BHAALSPAWN! BHAALSPAWN! BHAALSPAWN!"

Sarevok, in his BLADED ARMOR and Abdel, with his BIG, STRONG, MUSCULAR BODY, and their half-sister, and Abdel's girlfriend, the BEAUTIFUL HALF-ELF, are immediately caputured by the defenders, who seem to have forgotten that there was an eight-foot wide hole in the city wall, and blah, blah, blah, they meet Melisaan, who was the one who gathered hundreds of Bhaalspawn here "for their own safety." (If you haven't already figured out who the Chosen of Bhaal is by this point in the novel, don't worry, you're no more stupid than the characters.)

Abdel is sent out to fight the besieging general, who is EVEN MORE BIGGER AND STRONGERER AND MORE MUSCULARARERER THAN ABDEL and whose WOUNDS ALSO HEAL THEMSELVES. The latter surprises Abdel, who, being slightly more a dullard than George of the Jungle, was not quick to realize that a guy who is nine feet tall and EVEN MORE BIGGER AND STRONGERER AND MORE MUSCULARARERER THAN HE, and who goes half-naked into battle against a seven foot tall BIG AND STRONG AND MUSCULAR BHAALSPAWN who can turn into A FOUR ARMED, 12-FOOT TALL BUG could *also* HEAL HIS OWN WOUNDS -- doh! (Don't forget that Abdel's girlfriend is a BEAUTIFUL HALF-ELF -- not that it matters much at this point.)


Abdel wins. Did I mention that the enemy general, who was EVEN MORE BIGGER AND STRONGERER AND MORE MUSCULARARERER THAN ABDEL, had a rune-inscribed axe, too? This surprises Abdel. It surprises him so much that he leaves it lying on the ground and walks away from it despite the fact that many bad things still exist in the world and want to kill him and his half-sister and kill (re-kill?) his half-brother (who wears BLADED ARMOR, don't forget), and these rune-weapons are the only things which can wound BIG AND STRONG AND MUSCULAR BHAALSPAWN who HEAL THEIR OWN WOUNDS.

Then ... oh, God. Why bother telling more? There are dragons, who seem to exist only to be killed for experience points, being invulnerable before twenty thousand soldiers but dropping life gnats when fighting twelve-on-one against some schmuck in BLADED ARMOR who has no weapon but his BLADED ARMOR, and there are still more of the Five (three more, in fact!), and a mysterious monastery with a bad abbot and blah, blah, blah.

This book reads like a first draft penned by a bright twelve-year-old -- someone who can put together a good story but who does not yet know how to write it well. When a writer with a good story and an execrable writing style submits material to a publisher, it is the responsibility of an editor to either fix the problems or else send the manuscript back to the author and tell him to rewrite it and keep rewriting until people like me won't be tempted to write reviews like this. Obviously no one at Wizards of the Coast bothered to do this. No *competent* editor would have allowed such sloppy, amateurish writing as this to hit the stands. Those who have played the game have complained here about the book failing to mention huge amounts of the material which is covered by the game. Had the book an editor who was even passably competent, at least one-eighth of it (which consisted of telling us that Abdel was BIG AND STRONG, etc., that his girlfriend was a BEAUTIFUL HALF-ELF, that his brother wore BLADED ARMORER, etc.) could have been cut and replaced with new information. That this was not done is entirely the fault of The slap-dash editorial policy of Wizards of the Coast, whose parent company, Hasbro, apparently thinks that, "If you publish it, they will buy it." Not this dreck!

What is most galling about this lousy writing and editing is that there *is* an exciting, ripping yarn to be told about this chapter of Faerun's recent history. Except for Gregor Samsa -- er, Abdel Adrian --turning into a twelve foot bug just before the end, the last couple of chapters in this novel are very good (albeit somewhat flawed), and *I* honestly did not know who would win in the end. One character makes a surprising revelation which elicits a major shift in sympathy from one character to another and leaves Bhaal's plan to be reborn through his children in doubt -- up until the last couple of pages the outcome is uncertain, and not in a phoney, mock-suspense way, either -- there really is no certainty of who will win in the last two chapters.

This uncertainty is dashed by the most obnoxious character in the entire book, an angel (for want of a term recognizable to non-gamers) who works for Ao, the Overpower, who gives marching orders to the gods. I know that this is what Ao does because I have read many other Forgotten Realms books. Karpyshan seems not to have known or cared who Ao is; he sticks this angel in the book *only* to pull off an _angelus_ _ex_ _machina_, thwarting the high level of suspense created just before the end and forcing it into the result that 99.99% of readers will have expected just from reading the blurb on the back cover.

The angel (who wears a robe of black with a psychedelic star pattern, which I interpreted as indicating that this creature *was* Ao until events proved otherwise), constantly prattles about what is permitted and not permitted, and then proceeds to do what is not permitted. Ao, mind you, threw every god but one out of heaven because a few of them cheesed him off. We are to believe that he is going to let a mere angel disobey orders and alter the theological history of Faerun forever? I don't think so! A competent editor would have cut that thing from the book and told Karpyshyn to figure out some other way for Abdel to move around and know what he knows. This book did not have a competent editor.

(About the protagonist's name: I don't know who is to be blamed for the name "Abdel Adrian," but as anyone who is even slightly familiar with Arabic, or who has ever read a baby name book -- or the AD&D book "Arabian Adventures"! -- knows, "abd-el" means "servant of" and is meaningless on its own; it must be followed by another word/name to show of whom the person so designated is the servant. In this series the central character's name literally translates as "servant of Adrian" -- as roughly *one billion people* could have told anyone at Wizards who cared enough to ask. Every time I came across his stupid "name" I kept wondering: "Who's Adrian?" Every page of this book burns with the result of such sloppy editing.)

I give this book two stars because the sections about the essence of Bhaal being manipulated by the Chosen of Bhaal are interesting (to me), and the ending -- except for the damned angel -- was well-done. I have not read the first two books in the trilogy. If other readers are to be believed, they are far worse than this book!

First of all I must admit that technically Drew Karpyshyn's writing is much better than Philip Athans', though I must say it couldn't have been that hard to achieve since Athan's writing could be easily outdone by a five year old, the story is better structured and more fluid.

Regarding the story itself, well, Drew Karpyshyn didn't really have much to work with and I don't think it's his fault that it came out bad and far far away from the story presented in the awesome game. The reason for that lack of ability to change the story to the better lies in the fact that the story has been mutilated beyond recognition by Philip Athans, for example one of THE best characters in the game, Imoen, who is an innocent, kind, funny, light hearted and sweet soul in the game is turned by Philip Athans into an abused child who grows into a lesbian (also, unlike in the game she dies in Drew Karpyshyn's book).
The protagonist, like in the previous books, is a spineless jerk and a fool and not somebody who's prophesized to stop the rebirth of Bhaal, The God Of Murder. He doesn't grow to be somebody who's supposed to fulfil the prophecy, it seems like the prophecy would've fulfilled itself even if he hadn't lifted a finger (Blthazar reviving the protagonist and then killing himself so that the prophecy will be fulfilled ? Really ? Why didn't Balthazar kille all the Bhallspawns by himself and then fetched the protagonist from Candlekeep and then broke his own neck so that the prophecy will be fulfilled ? Who's the hero here ? The protagonist or Balthazar ? Sounds more like Balthazar is the hero here and the worthy one of the prophecy).

In short DO NOT buy any of the books, buy the games.

In Drew Karpyshyn's defence I must say that as far as I know it's his first book and he wasn't given any material to work with and I think that with some practice he will become a good writer(maybe he'll rewrite the entire trilogy into one book then, writing the story the way it should be;)). I certainly hope somebody does, somebody skilled in writing and who won't be lazy to play the games or at least take the final scripts from Bioware and write the book according to them (The protagonist having a spine and a brain, and Imoen being the same Imoen like in the games who also stays alive and then continues to travel, at least for a while, with the protagonist before starting to make a name for herself in the realms).

I'm not going to bother adding too much here... the other reviewers have explained it all perfectly. There is far too much repetition in the novel and the author has an unusual fascination with the words 'cloying' and 'conflagration' (don't forget to mention how beautiful Jaheria is and that Abdel is VERY muscular) ;)

The Baldur's Gate series was (and still is) one of the most beautiful and endearing games I'll ever play. To be twenty four years old and still have 'pangs' where every few years I'll suddenly get the urge to reinstall them says a lot at how timeless they are. Unfortunately, the novelizations left me feeling cheated. I am insulted the authors in all three novels didn't seem to bother inserting any of the wonder and epicness the games achieved. It's better to try than not bother at all, I say.

On the other hand, Throne of Bhaal IS a novelization of a video game - don't expect high literature. They're trashy by nature and put together for desperate nerds seeking to further their adventures in yet another fantasy universe. Just buy it, read it, revel in your ultimate nerddom and then put it back on the shelf for this is their soul purpose of creation... You won't ever need to read ToB again either - one can see what's coming a mile away and the actual content is merely copy and paste and edit who dies next.

Like other Baldur's Gate gamers I have the sense of urgency to shout out "play the games first!" but the harshness of how primitive the graphics are may deter some youngins. Grit your teeth and in the first five minutes it will be plain to see the games and books are entirely different creatures. Judgement of the game based on the book is therefore tantamount to sin, in my humble opinion.

The 90s was an interesting time for game development.. things had advanced enough to give fuel to envision what was to come but it was still just out of reach. This meant developers had to discover that special blend of storyline, character immersion and a sprinkle of NPCs or some other oddities that would inspire future nostalgia - and who doesn't remember Boo and Minsc, hmm? :)

To be honest, it's quite nauseating to read this sad mess and bear witness to doves crying blood tinged tears at how it's even possible to reduce the depth and creativity Baldur's Gate had to a grey, withered dried out piece of dog excrement. Seriously, they had so much material to work with... WHY?

I want to start off saying this book was horrible. First of all in the first three pages the amount amount of blood spilled would have made Dracula himself throw up. I'm completely positive that the author didn't play the game and the author only had a small list of the main events. I would expect more talent in writing in a five year old child. The only detailed parts was in a. The fight scenes and b. making love (With many DIFFERENT women mind you!). The author surely is a pervert. Not to mention he completely changed Jaheira's deity, thus making her completely different. Any person who would rate this book a five star is surely being bribed by the author. Maybe the author has better books, but if he does he certainly did not show it here!

This book comes nowhere close to telling the wonderful story of the computer game. I was so disappointed that I could not finish this horrible book. I would not recommend this book to anyone. If you want to know the story, buy the game, not this book.

It's a good thing this warning was placed on the FRONT COVER of all three books in this series, lest one gets the impression that the books should include everything found within Baldur's Gate, which by the way has to be one of the BEST computer RPG games of all time (along with Planescape: Torment)!
The book picks up from where Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn left off with Abdel and his efforts to break free from being a pawn in others' schemes. His quest takes him from the land of Tethyr to the border with Calimshan, to the Outer Plane of the Abyss and back.
The book starts off incredibly well, immediately catching the reader's interest and attention. The plot as a whole is excellent! The book is so incredibly well written and presented that the reader feels that they have been transported to another plane of existence and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense.
Drew Karpyshyn has done a FANTASTIC job of acquiring and presenting, efficiently and successfully, essential knowledge relevant to Faerun, including customs, religion and the history of the peoples of Toril. His solid grasp of factual detail makes him capable of providing the necessary background needed to carry out the difficult task of writing Forgotten Realms novels, which is something often missing from the work of many Fantasy authors. Consequently, from the moment you pick up the book you have trouble putting it down and if that is not a clear sign of a fantastic writer/author, I don't know what is!
The detailed description of warfare and the Tethyrian city of Saradush under siege, in chapter 11, was simply breathtaking.
Chapter 5 is a great source of information on the history of Toril (Forgotten Realms) regarding the fate of Bhaal's faithful after the Time of Troubles (described in the Avatar Trilogy).
Moreover, similarly to Steven Pressfield's extraordinary best-selling novel Gates of Fire (1998), Drew Karpyshyn too provides detailed, realistic and mature descriptions of bloodshed: e.g. on page 202 "Images of violence and unbridled savagery filled his mind. He envisioned himself ripping the thin elf limb from limb. He imagined his sword splitting her skull and spraying gray matter across the thick trunks of the nearby trees. He fantasized about slicing open her stomach and watching her clutch feebly at her guts as they spilled out and onto the forest underbrush."
On pages 177-185 and 213-219 respectively, the author provides two more exceptional descriptions that help teleport the reader to the world of Dungeons and Dragons: the first describes a dark elf assassin "on the job," while the second provides a detailed imagery of a monk's martial arts (and their effects) in action.
On pages 235-237 the author provides exceptional descriptions of the home of the dreaded Tanar'ri... the Abyss!
In addition, evil characters are very well portrayed throughout the book such as that of Illasera in chapter 2 and Bhaal's Anointed in chapter 21.
Dark Elves, Dragons, and factions like the Five and the Harpers (Jaheira) have been presented very well.
The story, the dialogues, and the small details are all wonderful and create a strong sense of mystery and anticipation.
Love, intrigue, betrayal, and swordfights are all about.
In short, the Baldur's Gate trilogy, Baldur's Gate: A Novelization, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal is well worth your while!

PS One should seriously start thinking about making some movies here...

Like the 2 other (Baldur's Gate & Baldur's Gate Shadows of Amn), play the game before :)

Great book !

One of the greatest things about the Baldur's Gate video games was that the player had options. You could tell Imoen to get lost, tell Jaheira to take a hike. Instead, you could chill out with Xzar and Monty. Or Viconia, Xan, Tiax, Korgan, Edwin - and even Edwina. Sadly, here that isn't so.

Like any mind-numbingly typical fantasy novel, this story follows the route of the good guys. It's boring. It's been done. It's been done a lot.

Abdel, son of the god Bhaal, is the hero here. In short, he's an orphan of great heritige. Typical. It can be interesting in the video game, but here it is just boring and trite. Abdel is simply not a good character.

The only thing that really saves this book is the revival of Sarevok, Abdel's brother. Now Sarevok is an interesting character and a real badass. Too bad he is only in a fraction of the book.

In the end, it is hard to fault Drew Karpyshyn for the downfalls of this story; it was already ruined by the writers of the previous two books. Drew does what he can, but it's not enough. This book is not recommended.

I just now finished reading Baldur's Gate 2 : Throne of Bhaal....Awesome trilogy. Smaller than most books in the Forgotten Realms series (except for the 'Double Diamond Triangle' saga......each book is about 80-some pages long).
The 1st 2 books in the trilogy were fast paced.....real nice and simple, just enough description to situations.
The 3rd book is written by someone else......yes, I also didn't like certain people dying.....omg, very sad ,...
very beautifully written scene. Love this trilogy.
Thank god I never played the games, just books to me....so there's no hang up on comparing books to game.
I hate finishing a series/trilogy...when it's a good one, I get teary-eyed because I'm leaving a certain world that I have enjoyed for 3 or more books.
This is no exception....will always remember these 3 books.
Gorgeously written.