Customer Reviews

Dance of Demons (Gord the Rogue)

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

 

 

This novel, a grand fantasy set in the world of Greyhawk (a fantasy world in which you play D & D created by Gary Gygax), is the final "Gord The Rogue" novel.

Gygax holds no punches in this one. Demigods, Demons, the most powerful entities in Greyhawk and the Abyss duke it out to the bitter end. Highly entertaining and a fitting end to the whole series, which spans seven novels.

In this final chapter, `Gord The Rogue', imbued with god-like abilities, embarks on a quest to unleash the universes most powerful evil in the name of balance. I found this a novel a treat, most likely because I am familiar with twenty sided dice, armor classes and the abilities of rogues - but this novel goes beyond entertaining those in the know of D & D.

It's a classic fantasy romp, and the stakes are rarely higher than in this offering. The extra fun comes from recognizing familiar Dungeons and Dragons world of Greyhawk players - like Orcus, Demogorgon, Infestix and Iuz. Then there is Tenser, Mordenkainen and Bigby.

Suffice it to say this series of novels by Gygax is quite entertaining at any level. And if you can find them, (a really big if here), I recommend them as a fun, fast read. And if you are like me, having grown up in the late 70s and early 80s playing `the game', then these particular novels are the worth their weight in gold.

I have long maintained that "Dance of Demons" was the worst fantasy novel I have ever read. Several years of reading have done nothing to dispel that notion. The overwhelming impression after reading the book is that of an overpowered uber-munchkin character running through a high-level D&D campaign... but then, no sane DM would let this happen. One of the other reviewers actually pasted some of the extracts of the novel to prove the point. Fortunately, I have managed to blank out the memory of the terrible, terrible, prose, the nonexistent plot, and the lack of character development (unless you count leveling up and gaining new abilities as levelling).

Stay away. FAR FAR away!

And they say bad things about Ed Greenwood. Let me tell you - Gary Gygax definitely created the uber-munchkin concept with the culmination of his central character, Gord the Rogue, first introduced in Saga of Old City and Artifact of Ultimate Evil (I'll skip the descriptives for Gord and his cohorts as I'm assuming that if you've managed to get this far you know who they all are). Elminster seriously looks like a shrimp compared to this guy. At this stage of the saga (I think there are seven books ahead of it) Gord's still human (using that term very loosely), but he's got about a zillion innate powers and godlike abilities.

In one sequence he kills about two THOUSAND demons (I kid you NOT) by himself, while his partner (also human) kills another two thousand. All this happens in one encounter.

In another one he faces off with the Reaper, Nerull, Lord of Hades, also known as Infestix, also known as the supreme leader of the yugoloths (daemons) and kicks his ass.

Did I say that Gord, at this stage, is not even thirty years old?

Dance of Demons has to be the WORST book I've ever read - Gary, who is rightly regarded as the father of D&D, must've gone completely dry on ideas and penned this for the money. His former narrative brilliance, so much in evidence in Saga of Old City and Artifact of Ultimate Evil, raised hopes that he was one of the few D&D writers who could stand among the contemporary fantasy crowd. But this book is a shocker. No suspense, no twists, nothing but Super-Gord cutting a swathe through every single thing. It's AD&D munchkinism at its absolute worst.

Gord is now the Champion of Balance (Good and Evil are BOTH undesirable) and is IMPERVIOUS to defeat and demon lords like Graz'zt, Demogorgon, Mandrillagon and Orcus, as well as daemonkings like Anthraxus and Infestix, and the Dukes Infernal (Asmodeus and Co.) quail before his relentless onslaught. And YES, as I said before, he's still human.

And just what exactly can Super-Gord do? (Don't worry, these aren't spoilers as they are revealed in the first five pages of the book.) Well, he can communicate by telepathy. He can move to any place with a thought. He can drop off other wizards' radar and do the stealth bomber thing. His armor is lighter than air. He has a magic ring which when worn makes it impossible for anyone to hurt him either physically or magically. Since he supposed to be a thief, he has these special gloves which allow him to fall any distance and land like a cat (ie fly downwards). Oh, and he wields Courflamme, the Mighty Sword of Neutrality, which has the ability to kill thousands of demons with a thought.

Here are some excerpts of one of his battles in the Abyss that will have you rolling on the floor.

"Gord raised the diamond-bright part of Courflamme, aiming at the demon's outthrust head. The sword's tip suddenly spat forth a black bolt of force. The crackling ebon dart sheared off the top of the fiend's head, and the impact of it actually flipped the demon's massive body over in a somersault.

Without pausing to view his work, Gord turned and faced his next foe, now aiming the long blade as if it were a wand. Again the inky core of the weapon sent forth a blast of dark power, and another of the charging demons died. It became almost mechanical thereafter: Gord pointed the blade, willed destruction, and again another monstrous beast crashed down dead. Again, again, yet again. Soon a half-circle of twitching demon corpses formed a barrier in front of him, a wall so great that the young champion could see nothing but its stinking height."

And if that's not enough for you, Gellor, his sidekick, has certainly grown from being that raspcallion guardian of Gord's from the first couple of books. Here's an example of what he's like in combat with demons:

"Gellor brought forth his ivory kanteel, adjusted one of the golden pegs, and gently stroked the silver strings of the little harp. A ripple of beautiful notes washed outward, and the demon-beasts reacted as if they had been struck by a tidal wave.

When the sounds from the enchanted strings of the instrument struck, fully a dozen of the massive monsters were bowled over, while a half-hundred of the lesser scavengers were blown away, some actually torn to pieces in the process."

And here's a final excerpt to blow you away (literally):

"Side by side, the two heroes strode across the endless leagues of the foul layer that was the entry to the Abyss. In a short time, thanks to their innate force, they came to the towering bluffs that housed the gateways to the next twenty tiers of the agglomeration of planes that formed the depth of evil called demonrealm, the Abyss. A few hundred lesser demons were there to contest their entry, prevent them from going on, but those malign guards died in vain, swiftly and without great effort from the pair. A clear and bright melody from the kanteel, some dark and deadly lightnings from the rejoined sword, Courflamme, and none stood to oppose them."

If you still want to go ahead after all that, then you probably need a lobotomy. I would have given it zero stars, but unfortunately the lowest vote is one. So one it is. Oh, and a special note to Gary's lawyers should they decide to chase me - this is just an opinion!