Customer Reviews

The City of Splendors (Forgotten Realms: The Cities)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ed Greenwood, along with very capable co-author Elaine Cunningham, revisit The City of Splendors, Waterdeep. It was Waterdeep that Greenwood first imagined when creating the fantasy world that is the Forgotten Realms. Having read almost every novel and sourcebook ever since, I was, to say the least, eagerly anticipating the release of this book. Unfortunately, this hefty 456 page novel did not live up to those admittedly lofty expectations. I am not sure what the previous two reviewers were looking for in this book that they gave it 5 stars, but I was certainly disappointed and bogged down by the petty and disjointed dialogue that the two authors try to pass off as urban intrigue and plot development. They do a particularly poor job in developing the main villain(s). Some of the lesser protagonists are neither convincing nor endearing. On a brighter note, Forgotten Realms fans will be happy to find that Piergerion Paladinson, Mirt the Moneylender, Khelben Blackstaff, Elaith Craulnober and a couple other noteworthy Forgotten Realms personages make cameos/play significant roles in the story.

If you are not a Forgotten Realms fans, I would honestly stay away from this hardcover. If you are looking for an epic, well-written fantasy novel, THIS IS NOT IT. I am sorry to be so harsh in this review, but this book lacks the customary fast-paced, engrossing feel that I associate with some top-notch Forgotten Realms novels. If you are skeptical, feel free to pick it up and pass your own judgment on City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel.

WATERDEEP: THE CITY OF SPLENDORS is by no means a bad book. It even becomes decent in parts, but at the beginning, it's stifled by mediocrity. The Gemcloaks I find boring, the dialogue I find overblown (with trademark Greenwood vocabulary and phrasing), the narrative nothing special and oh, the character descriptions? They come in info-dumps that tell you what the character looks like from head to toe, a bit about the character's personality, and a bit about the character's background. They are shoved all at once down your throat, and that is never a pleasant experience. It strikes me as amateurish, but then, many other FR novelists do the same. There's even a paragraph consisting of one long, messy run-on. With this and the inconsistencies in other novels (WAR OF THE SPIDER QUEEN's internal factual errors, game products not agreeing with novels, novels not agreeing with novels, factual errors in THE LAST MYTHAL trilogy), it's obvious that WotC has no editing standards whatsover. Is it any wonder that some people consider this line of novels to be laughingstock or hack jobs, even in the fantasy genre?

The storyline meanders a fair bit, and there are probably too many characters. It does start to come together about two-third through the book, though, which is a good thing. I far from oppose this kind of plot: it keeps things unpredictable, even if one has to put up what seems initially to be unfocused and somewhat undisciplined. We have the "New Day" people, with Dyre at the center: at first, again, I found them irritating because it doesn't seem like they'll go anywhere, just old men gibbering about things they'll never get around to. The Gemcloaks are so-so. The Dyrre daughters are all right. For many chapters, I mostly read it for Lark and, of course, for Elaith, a character I've always been fond of in Elaine Cunningham's novels. Mrelder is another character that interested me from early on. All in all, though, I do think that as fantasy characters go, CoS' cast comprises of a fairly atypical mix: an aged master stonemason, his daughters and maidservant, a sorcerer who's not so much evil as... afflicted with issues, and nobles that don't start off being nice and friendly to the common people (a tired device to make them sympathetic. Befriending the kitchen help, and all that; these young men act as those raised opulent and carefree should -- they are brats).

But ultimately, I don't think I cared much for the characters. One Gemcloak dies, but all that came to mind for me was "Oh, yay, we're down with one pointless character!" It's one of the least moving death scenes in fiction I've ever read, and part of that has to do with the fact that Gemcloaks mostly share the same personality. They have a few distinguishing trait and they wear cloaks with different colors, but in most scenes, you can substitute one's name with another and it will still read the same. The characterization, here, is incredibly lazy. I think the book'd have been better off with just three Gemcloaks. The cameo of Asper and Mirt annoyed the living daylight out of me; once again, Mirt pops up to make the same kind of "sly" comments and give "wise" advice, and Asper appears to make men gawk at her (look, she's not only amazing with a blade but also seductive and sexually aggressive -- just like every other Greenwood female character; how refreshing!). Author's darlings, author's darlings. I wish Greenwood would actually develop them or kill them off already. They're just boring and have nothing new to do or say. I swear, even if the Walking Statues had trampled all of Waterdeep into dust, Greenwood's pet characters would still somehow survive.

Elaith's scenes shine. There's an edge to everything he does, though I wish they would drop his angst already. His "conflict with my past! conflict with my morality! I am tortured!" has gone on for a long, long while, and by this point it's become tiresome.

Golskyn's megalomania... came out of the blue. Aren't evil overlord types with insanity a little dated, here? Worse, his madness seems to be a plot device for Mrelder to get out of his father's shadow. It's random and weird. Yes, he's a bit too much "Domination monster domination dominationtion!" from the start, but he started off relatively sane. Why the sudden insanity? What triggered it? Did he get hit by one of those dementia spells?

Still, I liked the overall tone of the ending: not happy, not entirely subdued, but somewhere in the between. Tragic but hopeful, which is, I think, the happy medium. I didn't much care for the action-packed parts, however. Brief action punctuated with "BOOM" gets really old really fast, and if I see the word "BOOM" again, it'll be too soon.

being a loyal forgotten realms fan, i was disappointed with greenwood's take on waterdeep. the story line never drew me in and the characters were one dimensional and largely uninteresting. would definitely not recommend this book - thank goodness he didn't write a trilogy.

As well as being an entertaining read, the most important aspect of this novel is that it deals with the lesser lights of the Realms. Too often, authors in the Realms have been accused of favoring super-powered fiction protagonists, unkillable and unbeatable. Here the focus is on more common, everyday individuals who discover the makings of heroism and come to realise the strength and power one can glean from true friendship and love. It is a novel that presents nuances that are not readily apparent, and in my case, took a second read to understand more fully. The book contains insightful social commentary regarding "haves" and "have-nots", albeit in a fantasy, quasi-medieval setting. It elaborates on important Realms characters such as Elaith Craulnobur and Mirt the Moneylender and introduces a new cast who will in time become cornerstones of Waterdeep and the surrounding environs. Read this book and understand that the shades of gray that we know exist in real life can also be effectively portrayed in a piece of fiction set in a made-up place.

-- George Krashos

I was hoping for something great. Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham together... Well, the prologue was awesome and I bought the book.
Chapter after chapter, I was hoping for the story to get interesting... at last... to no avail.
Not everything was bad. I learned some interesting things about the city and got the feel of some places at least.
I will try to forget this book and fondly remember others I enjoyed so much.

WATERDEEP: City of Splendors

Like many of the other reviewers, I was looking forward to reading a book that focused on Waterdeep. I admit that the story did leave me a bit disappointed as I felt that ultimately the story could have been about any city, and it didn't really fully take advantage of having the setting placed in Waterdeep.

While I found it took a while to become connected and attached to the plot and characters, but overall the story is still solid. It was a bit tedious in the first few chapters, but by the time I'd hit the mid-point, I was fully immersed. It is a typical Good VS Evil, with the dark clouds of doom slowly gathering, but it's still an interesting read. There is a nice balance between giving the reader insight into the plans and thoughts of those who are 'Good' and those who are 'Evil'. Without the focus on the thought process and planning of the 'Evil' side, this book would have lost a lot and would have ended up being pretty dull.

A lot of people were disappointed by this novel and I can see where they're coming from, but it's still a good book. For the casual reader, it will definitely be satisfying. But for an Greenwood/Cunningham novel, you may be disappointed.

This overall good story it feels that it was written by two authors and it is not clear if i really liked this book or not.

Therefore if i was asked to review this book in one phrase,I would say,
I liked it more than i didn't but not as much as i should ;)

The introduction of characters and situations lasted more than anticipated, it took pretty much half of the book to get me where i expected and i enjoyed it from then on.
There are some genuine moments where you really felt the hero and the situation, but although the focus is meant to be the city and not the heroes themselves, apart from a certain moments, i found it to lack the lush descriptive language that it would require to describe the locations the City of Splendors, the Grand City of Waterdeep.

There were some minor print layout issues towards the middle.

I gave this book four stars as an average, this rating doesn't apply overall. first Parts are 3+, others i would rate as 4.5

The book is set in the bustling (mega) city of Waterdeep, on the Sword Coast, on the shores of western Faerun, where it describes the adventures of a group of young Waterdhavian nobles who pass their time eating, drinking, playing, and womanizing (all in excess as befits the city's nobility). Their world, however, will never be the same when a cult set on dominating the City of Splendors tests the group's resolve and plunges the young nobles in more adventures (and trouble) than they can handle. Now they must not only save Waterdeep, but themselves as well...
The City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel is the fourth, and last, in the Cities series, which consists of The City of Ravens (set in the city of Ravens Bluff), Temple Hill (set in the city of Elversult), and The Jewel of Turmish (set in the city of Alaghon).
The book starts off incredibly well, immediately catching the reader's interest and attention before stagnation (and subsequently boredom) quickly sets in, only to pick up again with 100 or so pages to go.
The plot as a whole is interesting (for the most part). Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham do a good job of presenting essential knowledge relevant to Faerun, including customs, religion, and the history of the peoples of Toril (especially since the Forgotten Realms is setting is Ed Greenwood's brainchild and Elaine Cunningham has long worked successfully within this setting) e.g. in their depiction of a Dathran, (i.e. rogue witches of Rashemen) (pp.216-217) and the exotic poison Stratha, the Bane of Elves (p.284), to describing gnomes: "It was the way of gnomes to remember faults, longings, and other weaknesses for future bargaining." (p.79)
Moreover, on page 237 they provide a very good description of someone turning down a magical item due to alignment conflict.
Furthermore, the two authors are on the ball with the following two quotes: "I suppose many might be unhappy that Waterdeep's governed in secret, for how can they rise in power and influence unless they can see the path ahead," (p.79) and "If a thing is said often enough: fools aplenty will believe it's true." (p.145)
Finally, the authors provide for great dramatic effect with the following phrases stealing the show: "Boz was calmly biting off fingers, one at a time, to get at the coins clenched in the orc-blood's fist," (p.20) and "Watch your tongue, wench, or I'll cut it out and eat it." (p.25)
On the downside, the book has too much of a French/Russian Revolution theme, with class struggle and the likes, to the point that at times it seems like a political manifesto.
Moreover, for close to 350 pages (out of 476) the book was sooo very slow, with Chapter 6 almost putting me to sleep; dreadfully frustrating reading!
In addition, why didn't the noble families pay for their kin to be raised from the dead? It is not as if there is a shortage of temples and priests or of money.
It is also difficult to believe that Mrelder's efforts alone led to the rumors of Lord Piergeiron's death spreading like wildfire across a city like Waterdeep.
Furthermore, the outcome of Lord Piergeiron and his bodyguards' excursion into the Dock Ward was highly unlikely and improbable; he was hit by a tavern sign and collapsed like a 0-level commoner? The paladin warrior lord of Waterdeep??? And in the midst of it all Mrelder, the monk/sorcerer, stole the Guardian's Gorget! Are you joking?
Moreover, Mrelder neutralized Waterdeep's archmage, Khelben Blackstaff, with such ease and efficiency that he successfully kept him incapacitated throughout the story, while the latter's apprentices were presented as if they were buffoons. Are you kidding? Mrelder did that? If the monk/sorcerer and his mentally deranged father could pull that off, and if a waitress/housemaid is of more use in protecting the city than the Open Lord of Waterdeep, then a score of maimed kobolds can take the City without even breaking a sweat!
Additionally, what friends would leave their buddy alone and drunk in the seedy part of the city as the Gemcloaks did with Beldar at the Gelded Griffon? (p.221) Great friends indeed!
Other drawbacks include the ill relationship between father and son that makes you want to skewer them both, but most importantly the "genius" that conjured them!
Finally, Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham could have and should have done a much better job when dealing with a part of the Realms that they know better than the back of their hands.
In conclusion, The City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel will provide for a fair amount of entertainment though it could have been so much better. 3.3 Stars
The authors provide room for a sequel, though I am not sure there is a demand for it.

I'm coming back to D&D after two decades of being away. I'm back into PnP and have started to try to catch up with all of the Forgotten Realms stories. I was very, VERY disappointed with Greenwood's "Knights of Myth Drannor" series. I would not recommend those at all. I purchased that trilogy and the "City of Splendors" all at the same time, so on principle alone, I started to read it. I was almost going to put it down after it seemed like the story was going to revolve around a group of shallow, noble pansies. Ultimately the story did revolve around those characters, but soon enough, they became characters I could relate and and became real protagonists. Those characters progressed into those I wanted run through at the next bar fight to those that I was turning pages as fast as I could to see what happened to them next. I would definitely recommend this if you are a fan of D&D. Maybe Elaine Cunningham is the key because to me, Greenwood is not (after the Myth Drannor series).

Potential SPOILER... although the story is kind of cliched (good vs. evil, chivalrous ending), it ends up being a solid story.

I liked the characters in the book, but I thought the city lacked flavor. I purchased this book because of Waterdeep. It is my favorite city in the Forgotten Realms. I feel that more detail should have been devoted to the city. Good read.