Customer Reviews

Temple Hill (Forgotten Realms: The Cities series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was one of the best Forgotten Realms novels I read in a long time. The story revolved around the city of Elversult and the interlocking plots of the Cult of the Dragon and the Purple Masks (thieves guild of the city). Both of these groups are looking to gain a foothold in Elversult by overthrowing the ruler of the city. The motives and actions of each group were really put on display and helped to form a great backdrop to the characters.

The main characters were a half-elf named Lhasha, a fighter named Corin and a Gnome Fendel. Each one of these characters were fleshed out some with Corin being dealt with the most. The story of how Lhasha helps Corin regain his dignity is wonderful and the interplay between her and Fendel was fantastic.

The actions scenes were realistic and the author had a good grasp of how to describe a battle, whether with swords or magic. I really felt for Corin and was pulling for him from the beginning. The theme of redemption was strong and the ending was perfect for the story. I would recommend this book to anyone whether they like Fantasy or not. A great read!!

Hokay, this is one book where the readers would not feel
like grabbing the major characters by the throat, shake
them blue and yell "GET OVER IT...!".

Set in Eversult, a city built by smugglers, the tale revolved
around 2 fairly experienced characters; one was Lhasa, a thief/burglar of human-elven descent, marked by the Purple Masks for her refusal to join THE thieves' guild of the city, the other was Corin, a washed-out fighter who lost his sword arm in the last assignment which caused his White Shield company to disband. Watching over the pair was Fendel, a gnomish tinker priest of Gond.

While on the run from the Purple Masks, Lhasa crossed paths (and more) with Corin. The latter had bankrupted himself after two years of unsuccessfully trying to restore his sword arm at the Temple of the Morninglord. Somehow, though drunk most of the time, he managed to keep himself in good shape enough to tackle a patrol of the Maces, the ruthless enforcers of order in the city. Lhasa persuaded him to be her bodyguard, holding out the hope that her mentor Fendel would be able to provide him with prosthetic arm.

To finance the replacement arm, and to flee from the Masks, Lhasa took on a dangerous assignment, not knowing it was from a traitor who betrayed the White Shields two years before. Corin and Lhasa soon found themselves embroiled in an underworld war between the Cult of the Dragon and an shadowy independent syndicate led by someone known only as Xiliath. Xiliath's top lieutenant Graal was the one who had taken Corin's arm.

No stilted dialogue, excessive self-pity or tedious passages, this book went right into the action. Both Lhasa and Corin acted well for their situations, and no wasteful time nor words that would make the readers feel impatient with the characters.

The book also gave a good introduction to Eversult, which had not been covered in any other FR novels - a city built by smugglers, highlighting its unique flavour, distinguishing it from being just another city with underground mazes.

Temple Hill starts off incredibly well (i.e. with the ambush!), immediately catching the reader's interest and attention.
The book is set in Elversult, in the Eastern Heartlands of Faerun, where it deals with the main character Corin and his efforts to come to grips with the loss of his arm during an ambush two years earlier. During a routine mission, Corin's White Shield Company was betrayed and ambushed leaving him crippled and shattering his dreams of a glorious future as a warrior. Now along with a half-elf thief and a gnome wizard/priest/thief (!!!) he must save Elversult's ruler, as well as himself...
The plot as a whole is excellent! The book is so incredibly well written and presented that the reader feels that they have been transported to another plane of existence and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense.
The description of the first encounter, on the outskirts of the city of Elversult, was simply breathtaking: "The horses lay beside their masters, kicking and thrashing in blind agony, as lethal to their owners now as they had been to their enemies in glorious battles of the past." (Page 5)
"He scrambled back to his feet and saw Igland writhing on the ground, his hands clutching at a stump that used to be his left leg." (Page 11)
"The force of the blow threw Corin onto his back, his severed hand dropped twitching to the ground beside him." (Page 13)
This is all done similarly to Steven Pressfield's extraordinary best-selling novel Gates of Fire (1998), as Drew Karpyshyn too provides detailed, realistic and mature descriptions of battle.
On pages 50-51 and 262 respectively, the author provides two more exceptional descriptions that help teleport the reader to the world of Dungeons and Dragons: the first describes the rationale behind a good-aligned thief and the second provides a detailed imagery of a stone to flesh spell at work.
In addition, evil characters are very well portrayed throughout the book: "And if Yanseldara gets even a hint of what is going on I will rip your fingers off and devour them one by one, rings and all." (Page 85)
"Graal snapped the finger at the knuckle and a helmet of white bone popped up through the already graying skin. He twisted the mangled digit and tore half of it off, allowing him to slide the ring free." (Page196)
Finally, the author does an AMAZING job of presenting a great dramatic effect with the following quotes stealing the show: "When they ask who took your hand, human, tell them it was Graal!" (Page 14)
"His left hand unconsciously rubbing the stump that was once the best sword arm in the now defunct White Shield Company of Elversult." (Page15)
"Azlar had unleashed the medusa on Graal's troops, they scattered before her like dust. In her wake he saw only statues and corpses bloated by the poison of her venomous tresses." (Page193)
"Regret was a crutch for the weak. The strong learned from their mistakes, they didn't wallow in them." (Page 216)
Orcs, Orogs, Nagas, Medusas, Beholders, and factions like the Purple Masks, the Harpers, and the Cult of the Dragon have been very well presented.
The story, the dialogues, and the details are all wonderful, and create a strong sense of mystery and anticipation.
In short, Temple Hill is a book well worth your while!

I enjoyed the first cities novel, but this one was a much better read overall. The characters are very interesting especially the Gnome and I hate Gnomes. The action is excellent and the plot interesting. Ok it is a little predictable, but I will forgive it that as it was just plain fun. It is certainly worth a read if you like Forgotten realms novels.

I thought this was a great book. I really like the author's style of showing you the same scene through 2 or 3 character's eyes. I also learned a good amount about Rogues (a class I'm not very familiar with) and it has a fair share of interesting monsters which adds to the enjoyment.

This author had me hooked from the first page until the last. I really enjoyed the way the story unfolds and maintains the action throughout, even while the city of Eversult comes alive before your eyes. The final battle was just perfect. I definately recommend it for any D&D fan, or fantasy lover.

I picked this book up based on the Amazon.com reviews here, and I was not disappointed. The book starts off with a bang and never lets up. The characters are wonderful and easy to relate to (I was very impressed by the idea of a handicapped hero - something I'd never seen in a fantasy novel). A great adventure and a wonderful read!

This story was an excellent, single volume story based in a city of the Forgotten Realms. The characters were relatively believable, and the author did not get too sappy with the storyline. Corin One-Hand was an especially good character, and his suffering and recovery from a deep personal crisis were great to see.

Now, that said, it behooves me to mention a point in this author's writing that I didn't find altogether agreeable. Mr. Karpyshyn has an odd tendency to tell about an event happening from one character's perspective, and then retell the same even from another character's perspective. He does this even with fight scenes and not particularly dramatic moments. Further, the text of each retelling is so similar - at times word-for-word - that it leads one to suspect that he was trying to fill pages.

As a lover of fantasy novels who is fond of stories that conclude in the same volume, I heartily recommend this book to others despite the above-mentioned flaw. If you appreciate fantasy, I doubt you'll regret buying "Temple Hill".

It was the on of the best books I have read in a while. It has a great plot, and lots of character devolpment (which is lacking in many books). I rank him near RA Salvatore (in the top ranks of FR authors). I eagerly await his next book.

"Temple Hill" is a story that has been told a thousand thousand times but always is welcome by the lone reader. A cascade of sword play, magic and faith that, although predictable on mnay pages, is written with excellence. The fight scenes are choreographed believably and with grace. The emotional side is more real than many of today's stories as it faces the problems of duty, vengeance and love. I liked this book but because of the same storyline - good soldier loses self and a woman brings him back - I can only give this four stars.