Customer Reviews

Poison Elves, Vol. 3 (Desert of the Third Sin)

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Since you're checking out the Amazon listing for the 3rd volume in the Poison Elves saga, I'll assume you're familiar with the series and the twisted genius that is Drew Hayes. If you're not familiar with Poison Elves, you're probably better off checking out Poison Elves Vol. 1 (Requiem for an Elf) (Poison Elves) or even Poison Elves, Volume Five: Sanctuary (Poison Elves), both of which are good jumping-on points for new readers. Though to be fair, I started the series with this particular volume.

Volume 3: Desert of the Third Sin is where the Poison Elves series really starts heating up. Up until now, you get the sense that Drew was experimenting with different styles of storytelling, fleshing out Lusiphur's character, and establishing the world in which the story takes place. Sure there was a continuity, and events in one issue built upon events in previous issues, but the series seemed more like a loose collection of adventures (adventures in this case being categorized as either (a) barroom brawls, or (b) blood-drenched encounters with demonlords, doppelgangers, or just plain psychos) than an actual saga.

In Desert of the Third Sin, things really start to happen. In a nutshell, Luse goes out into the desert to release a genie from a lamp. He gets the requisite three wishes, and in doing so drastically reshapes his future. This is where Luse acquires the magical sword Cinlach, battles an elvin Warduke, encounters the wizard Tenth for the first time, makes an enemy of the dimension-jumping assassin Widowmaker, and begins his partnership with Jace. In short, all of the major events in Lusiphur's future spring from what takes place in this book.

Hayes is really on top of his game here. Every aspect of his storytelling, from the plot to the razor-sharp dialogue to the artwork - is just fantastic. Drew Hayes is an unrecognized master storyteller, and this is one of his finest moments.

NOTE: The issues contained in this book are also available in Poison Elves: The Mulehide Years (Volume 1-4) (Poison Elves), which collects volumes 1-4 into one huge trade paperback. If you don't already own the individual books, that may be your best bet.