30. 1989 (Mar.) - Warhammer Fantasy - Jack Yeovil (Kim Newman) - Drachenfels (Warhammer Fantasy #1)

 

Series: Vampire Genevieve, 1.

The first novel to ever come out in the Warhammer setting, set in their Fantasy universe, is also one of the first novels by renowned novelist, film connoisseur and vampire enthusiast Kim Newman, who would later be better known for his Anno Dracula novel series (which is still ongoing) as well as being a staple on horror DVD and Blu-Ray special features as an ubiquitous talking head.

For the first novel for a medieval miniature game this is an amazingly entertaining, fun and innovative novel. Influenced by Dracula but also influencing the later Anno Dracula novels, the story tells of a playwright/actor, Detlef, who is hired by an important noble to retell the story of the killing of the wizard Drachenfels years ago. As the play starts being produced the story of the fiction and that of the real events start mixing together as those involved in the death of Drachenfels are brought together. 

Divided into acts and with a memorable cast, particularly the Vampire Genevieve who would take centre role in further novels in this and other universes, the book is, in good Newman tradition, full of references to other tales, movies and events, this is also a one off story, completely self-contained and really satisfying by itself. This is not always the case in these kinds of novelizations, so that's refreshing. A definite recommendation if you are a fan of the Anno Dracula series particularly, but generally if you like a good vampire novel. 

TL;DR: 8/10

29. 1989 (Feb.) - Forgotten Realms (D&D) - Douglas Niles - Darkwell (Forgotten Realms #8)

 

Series: The Moonshae Trilogy 3

The conclusion to the ok, but frankly underwhelming Moonshae trilogy, particularly when compared to other Forgotten Realms series coming out at the same time, like the Icewind Dale trilogy which introduced us to Drizzt or even the Azure Bonds and Spellfire first  volumes that had already come out, this is another Forgotten Realms book centred about the threat to the Moonshae Islands posed by the dark god Bhaal. 

It suffers from a lot of the problems of badly planned out conclusions to series, particularly trying to do too much and tying everything up with a convenient bow, without it feeling really earned. Lot's of good and bad guys to kill off in quick successions, intercalated with long battle sequences which are often dull.

The upside of that convenient plot fixing is that at least by the end of the book we have the story done and dusted, the evil guys are banished and the good guys get married and live happily ever after (or do they?). There will be eventual continuations to this story, obviously, but can't say I'm looking forward to them. As a final note, if you read this, I strongly advise you stay away from the Audiobook, worst narrator ever, can't pronounce half the words, not only the fantasy ones but even regular English words like gas (pronounces "gazze" and "gazzes") or brethren (pronounces "breath ren"). This is a professional reader on Audible, just read the book, if you must, dump the audio version. 

TL;DR: 4/10

28. 1989 (Jan.) - Forgotten Realms (D&D) - R. A. Salvatore - Streams of Silver (Forgotten Realms #7)

 

Series: Icewind Dale Trilogy 2

The second by order of publication of both the Icewind Dale trilogy and the Drizzt series of novels (there would eventually be prequels and that's why you might find this as volume 5, when it was really the second one published), this picks up shortly after the end of the first volume. 

Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar and Regis go off in search of Bruenor's ancestral home of Mithral Hall, all the way being chased by a party of villains interested in stopping their progress and if needed kill them. 

The general and fun idea is of having an adventuring party in classic D&D style, but with a counterparty chasing them, as if they were parallel D&D games. The writing is fun and the book is fluid, the story works well enough on its own but gains from the previous volume and sets things up nicely for the next one. Fun, nostalgic read.

TL;DR: 7/10

27. 1988. (Dec.) - Dragonlance - Michael Williams - Weasel's Luck (Dragonlance #12)

 

Series: Heroes Volume 3

The third volume in the Dragonlance Heroes series, this is one of the least heroic of the bunch. The titular Weasel is the youngest son of a modest aristocrat and is a thoroughly egotistical, opportunistic scoundrel. The book is, however, a kind of High Fantasy Bildungsroman with Weasel learning about life and what it means to be a hero.

Unfortunately, Weasel's transformation from anti-hero to hero does take place a bit too quickly towards the end and is not totally convincing, but I do understand why this happens. The truth is Weasel is a lot more fun to read about when he is just being a little shit, playing pranks on his brothers and playing both sides against each other in a supernatural good versus evil fight in order to survive. 

In the end it is a really enjoyable book, above average writing for the franchise with interesting characters and a plot which includes ghosts, revenge, knights, palatial intrigue, centaurs and satyrs. Definitely worth a read.

TL;DR: 7/10

26. 1988. (Nov.) - Greyhawk (Gygax) - Gary Gygax - Dance of Demons (Gygax #4)

 

Series: Gord, the Rogue #6

There is much to be thankful to Gary Gygax for, he invented Dungeons and Dragons which brought such joy to so many people, for example, but his forays into fiction are surely not a thing to thank him for. 

Dance of Demons is the last of his Greyhawk novels and much like his previous ones it is pretty terrible. By this time Gygax had acrimoniously separated from what was then TSR, the company which sold D&D and there was clearly a lot of bitterness in the air. In this last volume he decided to burn his remaining bridge by just destroying the world that he had created.

This could be the premise for a pretty interesting novel, but it wasn't to be. Gygax writes in an overly florid way which commits all the worst sins of fantasy writing. The two greatest of these are his penchant for long, drawn-out, battle sequences, which are really dull and the creation of an overly complex cast of pretty indistinguishable characters. There must be some 20 different demons here all with nearly unpronounceable names and paper-thin characterisations for whom you care nothing if they live or die. It feels like the novel should come with a 500 page volume of extra material fleshing out the world and characters, I kind of need to see Gygax's notes to make sense of this, or even care. By the end the universe is destroyed and our main characters live on in parallel realities, thank god I don't have to read 100 page battle scenes again.

TL;DR: 1/10 Thank fuck it's over. 

25. 1988 (Oct.) - Forgotten Realms (D&D) - Kate Novak, Jeff Grubb - Azure Bonds (Forgotten Realms #6)

 

Series: Finder's Stone #1

The first book in the Forgotten Realms "Finder's Stone Trilogy" this is actually an above average entry in the Realms books. With a compelling story and a great cast of secondary characters, plenty of mysteries to unravel and a satisfying ending, it's a light and fun read.

The main character, Alias, is a badass woman warrior with a mysterious past that gets unravelled as the book goes on. I get the feeling that this was possibly not imagined as the first of a trilogy, because the book does add up to a full story and wraps up quite neatly at the end, but that also makes it more satisfying as a read.

It's typical of D&D books that the central characters form a party, and this is no exception, we get a warrior, a thief/bard, a paladin and a mage, but all of them are quirky enough to make them fun. The warrior is an amnesiac, the bard is not a bard really but a halfling thief with dubious morals, the paladin is a lizard who speaks through smell and the mage is actually a merchant who dabbles. You also get dragons, ancient gods and dark rituals. Fun!

TL;DR: 7/10 Read it! 

24. 1988 (Aug.) - Forgotten Realms (D&D) - Ed Greenwood - Spellfire (Forgotten Realms #4)

 

Series: Shandril Saga #1

The introduction of Elminster into the Forgotten Realms novels (he had already appeared in earlier short stories in magazines) and written by Ed Greenwood, the actual creator of The Forgotten Realms setting, based on his own campaign setting, this isn't a great novel, but it's ok.

The story follows Shandril Shessair, a young orphan barmaid who becomes imbued with Spellfire as part of her genetic heritage as she plows through some dracoliches, adventures around, gets married on a whim and is pursued by evil forces who want to get her power.

There is little to no character development here, except for Elminster who feels fully fleshed, everyone else is kind of a cardboard stereotype of who they are supposed to be. Just the suddenness of how Shandril and Narm's relationship goes from perfect strangers to married is an indication of that. Pretty much a paint by numbers Forgotten Realms novel, it entertains but doesn't enthuse.

TL;DR: 6/10 Ok, but not great.