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3.0 out of 5 stars
Realms of the Deep edited by Philip Athans, September 30, 2009
This review is from: Realms of the Deep (Forgotten Realms) (Mass Market Paperback)
Realms of the Deep edited by Philip Athans was released in 1999. The anthology is comprised of twelve short stories written by Lynn Abbey, Elaine Cunningham, Peter Archer, Ed Greenwood, Richard Lee Byers, Clayton Emery, Mel Odom, Troy Denning, Larry Hobbs, Thomas M. Reid, Steven E. Schend, and Keith Francis Strohm. Also included is a calendar, telling the names of the various months in the Realms. This anthology goes with The Threat From the Sea trilogy written by Mel Odom, and deals with all things with the sea.
Hard Choices by Lynn Abbey- The story is about a sea elf named Shemsen, the lone surviver of a Sahuagin attack on an outpost in Waterdeep Harbor. Shemsen feels uncomfortable as for the reason of his survival and goes deep down to a ship-sized hole called Umberlee's Cache, where he hears the goddess' voice giving him orders and a conch shell. Shemsen has to face his past and his origin to make a choice, save his friends or save his blood relatives.
Negatives:
1) Sentence structure. I don't like how this was written. In the beginning the story was hard to gather because of how it was written. It didn't seem coherent or understandable. It just felt like the words were just thrown down to create a "sentence."
2) Intertwined Scenes. In the middle of the story there was this scene of Shemsen going to Umberlee's Cache and recalling his past, which is fine. But how it was written made it hard to tell what was the past and what was the present. There were no breaks or clues (right away) that we were in the past.
3) Cliché. I don't want to go into detail about this without giving away much so needless to say, it's been done before.
Positives:
1) Interesting idea. I do like the clichéd concept however. It could have worked pretty well but it just fell flat on it's face.
2) Shemsen. While I didn't feel like you really get to know his struggle, he was an interesting character. I don't really know why I think this, but I just liked him.
Overall: 2/5
*Cliché, confusing scenes, and sentences in which nothing is really told are the lowlights of this story. It fell flat in many different ways and it's sad because I thought it did have some potential.*
Fire is Fire by Elaine Cunningham- The story is about an apprentice wizard, Sydon, when he is protecting Waterdeep Harbor from the attack of the sahuagin. Also there are parts when the battle focuses on a sahuagin soldier and his fight.
Negatives:
1) Rushed. This really felt like a rushed story. It didn't help that it felt short and just blew by fairly quickly. I wanted to read more and have this story last a little longer.
Positives:
1) Sydon. He was an interesting character. You felt like he enjoyed throwing magic around and later you really could tell he was scared and frightened. The emotions he felt were really portrayed well.
2) Action. The action was done pretty well. All the bloodshed and the magic throwing was pretty neat and exciting.
Overall: 4/5
*Pretty fun and interesting story, I just thought it was a little rushed and I really wanted to read more.*
Messenger to Seros by Peter Archer- The story is about a merman named Thraxos and his journey to deliver a message to the Sea of Fallen Stars to send some reinforcements to Waterdeep because of the previous attacks. Along the way, Thraxos gets transported to a place where he mets a little girl who helps him on his way.
Negatives:
1) The Beginning. I didn't care for how we are introduced to Thraxos. It seemed cheesy and just overdone with the fish parting and whatnot. It was like I was watching a bad movie were the hero comes out of the flames or something like that.
2) The Ending. It just kind of ended. I don't know what really happened and it just didn't seem like it should have ended.
Positives:
1) Thraxos. He was an interesting character because he didn't seem like the kind of character that you would read about. He wasn't really remarkable yet I liked him. Also I like how he was flawed in some aspects. He just felt different.
2) The Middle. This was a pretty good part of the story. All the events, even the mundane ones, were pretty interesting and exciting.
Overall: 3/5
*What really made this story not work was the sudden ending. It was just too abrupt and sudden.*
The Place Where Guards Snore at Their Posts by Ed Greenwood- The story mainly focuses on an apprentice mage named Brandor and how he is a prankster of a mercenary company, the Black Buckler Band, stationed on the island of Mintarn.
Negatives:
1) Inconsistent. I just felt that somethings about the story was a little inconsistent. For example, I was lead to believe that Brandor never really spoken to the Tyrant of Mintarn's daughter Shalara, yet later on it said that they talked frequently. Unless I miss read, which could be seeing as-
2) Sentence Structure. -the sentence structure was horrible. I couldn't make sense of what I was reading at times, and then other times I didn't know who did what. This really brought the overall story down. It's just too confusing and seemed to lack a few key details a lot.
3) The First Scene. One word can describe this... Irreverent. It doesn't seem to have any significance upon the story, and it seemed the "plan" that was brought up wasn't even used. Just pointless. Heck, the way the beginning was going I thought it was going to be an interesting story. Yet, nothing came out of this.
Positives:
1) Brandor. The only real good thing was the main character, and even he wasn't that interesting. While the whole idea behind him was overused, he at least made the story bearable. The reason for this is because everyone knows he's a troublemaker, and that his pranks are pretty funny and a little elaborate.
Overall: 1/5
*Confusing, confusing, and pointless seem to be the whole idea behind this story. I wasn't interested and it sure didn't try to keep my interest. Seriously, what was up with that first part?*
Lost Cause by Richard Lee Byers- The story is about a little village of Port Llast and their battle against crabmen and giant jellyfish. The story is told through the eyes of Sergeant Kendrack of how the port's new First Captain, Hylas of Elturel, is trying to deal with the problem.
Negatives:
None.
Positives:
1) Entertaining. Everything about this story is entertaining. It's fast paced, funny, and action packed at times. Just a real fun story.
2) Sergeant Kendrack. He was an interesting character. You got to see his doubts as well as what he thinks about the First Captain. Also, how he deals with the garrison made him seem like a general leader.
3) Hylas. Although he comes off as a pompous, arrogant fool, it was nice to see how he changed. Also it's surprising how the men regarded him in the beginning than at the end.
Overall: 5/5
*Maybe it's because of the dreadful Greenwood story, but Richard Lee Byers really made this story fun and interesting. It was well written and kept me wanting more.*
Forged In Fire by Clayton Emery- The story is about a pirate captain named Heart of a Lion as his pirate crew is attacking a merchant vessel. The merchants put of a good fight, but alas they surrender. However, before anyone can celebrate, threats from the deep decide to join in.
Negatives:
1) Word Choice. I felt that at times, some of the words seemed wrong and didn't make much sense to me. Mainly because I have no knowledge of boating/ sailing terms. But never the less, there were times when I didn't follow what was going on because of a certain word didn't seem to make much sense.
Positives:
1) Action. The action I thought was well done. It was exciting and felt like it was done right.
2) Descriptions. I thought the way Clayton Emery described some of the creatures and whatnot were very helpful and pretty in depth. He did a good job in painting a picture in my mind.
Overall: 4/5
*Pretty good story. It was fun to read and really kept the excitement at all times it seemed.*
One Who Swims With Sekolah by Mel Odom- The story focuses on how the sahuagin of the Alamber Sea were able to break down the Sharksbane Wall and be able to swim in the Sea of Fallen Stars. The focus of the story is on a priestess of Sekolah, the god of the sahuagin, a malenti named Laaqueel and her part in finding the ways in order to break down the wall. She serves the self proclaimed king of the sahuagin, Iakhovas, who ironically, isn't sahuagin. The story (I believe) ties in with Mel Odom's Threat From the Sea trilogy, which this anthology is tied to.
Negatives:
1) Background. Okay, so this is a personal fault I found with the story. I haven't read Mel Odom's Threat From the Sea trilogy as of yet, so I don't know the whole background of what is happening. In hindsight, it would have been a good idea to read that trilogy before reading this, but I digress.
Positives:
1) Characters. Every main character in the story is interesting and creative. Laaqueel and Iakhovas are both the main focuses and they don't disappoint. Laaqueel is fairly straightforward, she at times seemed level head and at others her sahuagin side gets the best of her but she was very interesting. She didn't seem as heartless as some of the other characters who are malenti, but at the same time she was bloodthirsty and cruel. Then to top it off, she still remained somewhat of a mystery. Continuing with that thought, Iakhovas is a total mystery. You get glimpses and looks of what and who he is but it never really is covered in to much detail and it works very well.
2) Exciting. The whole story is exciting. I felt that every aspect (characters,...
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