Customer Reviews

Descent into the Depths of the Earth (Greyhawk)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Another novel based on a classic TSR module. Paul Kidd does a good job with the returning characters of Justicar, Escalla, Polk, and Enid the Sphinx.

While I found Kidd's WHITE PLUME MOUNTAIN to be a more humorous, fast-flowing novel, DESCENT is still a fine read. Kidd does a good job in personalizing the adventure for the protagonists: a problem with Escalla's family and her duties to them leads ultimatley to the party's descent into the earth to fight the dreaded drow.

I highly recommend that you read WHITE PLUME MOUNTAIN first, because Kidd doesn't do much back-tracking to explain how these unusual characters came to be together. And if you've missed that story, you've missed something good!

Man what a book! Finally an author who understands that if magic is abundant enough in the world to sell on scrolls it's going to be used a whole lot! It was a lot of fun reading this one. The hellhound pelt was a truly innovative idea. Escalla's character wasfun and very lifelike. Her interaction withthe Justicar was truly amusing. Now I'm going to have to go back and read WHITE PLUME MOUNTAIN just to see their relationship from the beginning. Ya gotta grab this one!

A sword called "Benelux"!? Bwahahaha! I'll bet this gag slipped past the editors as I'm sure they would have deleted it otherwise. The sequel to "White Plume Mountain" feels a bit more rough-edged and awkward in terms of story flow but still retains the fast paced humour and cynical dungeoncrawling mentality that made it's predecessor such a delight to read. The characters have been considerably more fleshed out but have lost nothing of their refreshing personalities - even Polk grows on you after a while. What really caught my eye are some of the most innovative ideas for magic-use I've seem yet, not to mention some of the most risque imagery and innuendos I've seen in an AD&D novel (again probably slipped past the editors). Reading "White Plume Mountain" beforehand is essential and for those who have actually played the original TSR module, there is an added level of nostalgia ("Geez, why didn't the party think of doing THAT!?"). Can't wait for "Demonweb Pits"!

I thought the dialogue and characters were hilarious. The murder mystery unfolding, clever magical fights and obsession with Escalla's clothing was great too.
Escally, Jus Pol and Enid are very appealing characters.

This is book 2 out of 3 (so far). Out of the 3, i loved this one by far the best. I give all 3 books a 5 for sure, but this one was my favorite. The adventuring group gets a little larger. The Justicar and the pixie really start to form a bond. The story really flows well, and you just don't want to put it down. It is very exciting, and fast action-packed page after page. Full of humor to the end, as well.
If you've played Dungeons & Dragons and/or played this module, that's even more of a plus. But this book is all out awesome even if you haven't, and just love a good fantasy/adventure book. I definitely recommend reading all 3 books in order though. Check out White Plume Mountain first. :>

The second novel in the Justicar series is a great read. The characters are not the kind of adventuring party you'd have with a point-buy system in a RPG, which makes it all the more interesting to me. The varying power levels and skills keeps it from reading like someone retelling their D&D session. The Justicar is a destructive fighting force with a brutal and effective style, Escalla is funny and terribly overconfident but a competent spell caster when it really counts, and Cinders (sentient hell hound pelt) is loyal and lovable. Polk the teamster is annoyingly funny and Henry is the more like what real role players would be in a fantasy world; clumsy, frightened, and in over his heads.
The first and last books are better, but this one is a must to bridge them.

This was a great book. It gets away from the sappy over-done story lines of a typical fantasy book such as any Forgotten Realms book. The charters are someone you can relate too easily and the humor is wonderful. It is great to read a lighter side of the fantasy world. I do not understand the whining about this book not following the game rules....that is why it is called "fiction". Every fantasy book does not have to be some dark menacing mellow-drama. Good humor and action is hard to find and Paul Kidd is a master of it.

... then read this book. A tale of a classic role-playing adventure, filled with humor, mystery, magic, sword-fighting, monsters, death, destruction, and yes, love.

If you've ever gamed until the wee hours of the morning, ever sat around a table with others drinking soda and rolling D20's, you'll want this book. Boy, talk about taking a stroll down memory lane! An adventure every gamer wished to experience, that their characters would survive and surmount such challenges.

Get the book - you'll love it!

I thoroughly enjoyed Kidd's work in 'White Plume Mountain', and I couldn't wait to read this one. However, while Kidd did a marvelous job with the character development (except for his rather brazen dumping of Enid), the story flow was greatly lacking, and left much of the early part of the book difficult to read through. Apart from the Justicar (a very high level Ranger) allowing his party to get lost by more than 500 miles, the entire novel read almost as badly (and with far too much similarity) to the disappointing 'Against the Giants' novel. While I do recommend this book to people who enjoy AD&D and/or 'White Plume Mountain', I do have to say that this work was very dissapointing. I would, however, very much like to see additional works by Kidd, especially featuring Escalla and the Justicar.

What Characters!!!!! I just finished the book......but Im not ready to leave yet!More...more....Please???