runk's junk : geeky goodness

From the publisher: Let’s get something clear right up front.

I’m not Harry Dresden.

Harry’s a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He’s Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He’ll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences—and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being.

I’ll be damned if I know how.

But then, I’ll be damned regardless.

My name is Thomas Raith, and I’m a monster.

So begins Backup, a twelve thousand word novelette set in Jim Butcher s ultra-popular Dresden Files series. This time Harry’s in trouble he knows nothing about, and it’s up to his big brother Thomas to track him down and solve those little life-threatening difficulties without his little brother even noticing.

From the publisher: When the supernatural world spins out of control, when the police can’t handle what goes bump in the night, when monsters come screaming out of nightmares and into the mean streets, there’s just one man to call: Harry Dresden, the only professional wizard in the Chicago phone book. A police consultant and private investigator, Dresden has to walk the dangerous line between the world of night and the light of day.

Now Harry Dresden is investigating a brutal mauling at the Lincoln Park Zoo that has left a security guard dead and many questions unanswered. As an investigator of the supernatural, he senses that there’s more to this case than a simple animal attack, and as Dresden searches for clues to figure out who is really behind the crime, he finds himself next on the victim list, and being hunted by creatures that won’t leave much more than a stain if they catch him.

Written exclusively for comics by Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle is a brand-new story that’s sure to enchant readers with a blend of gripping mystery and fantastic adventure.

From the publisher: The Horror Writers Association Presents Blood Lite…a collection of entertaining tales that puts the fun back into dark fiction, with ironic twists and tongue-in-cheek wit to temper the jagged edge.

Charlaine Harris reveals the dark side of going green, when a quartet of die-hard environmentalists hosts a fundraiser with a gory twist in An Evening with Al Gore…In an all-new Dresden Files story from Jim Butcher, when it comes to tracking deadly paranormal doings, there’s no such thing as a Day Off for the Chicago P.D.’s wizard detective, Harry Dresden…Sherrilyn Kenyon turns a cubicle-dwelling MBA with no life into a demon-fighting seraph with one hell of an afterlife in Where Angels Fear to Tread…Celebrity necromancer Jaime Vegas is headlining a sold-out séance tour, but behind the scenes, a disgruntled ghost has a bone to pick, in Kelley Armstrong’s The Ungrateful Dead. Plus tales guaranteed to get under your skin—in a good way—from

Janet Berliner, Don D’Ammassa, Nancy Holder, Nancy Kilpatrick, J. A. Konrath, F. Paul Wilson, Joe R. Lansdale, Will Ludwigsen, Sharyn McCrumb, Mark Onspaugh, Mike Resnick, Steven Savile, D. L. Snell, Eric James, Stone Jeff, Strand Lucien, Soulban Matt Venne, and Christopher Welch

So let the blood flow and laughter reign—because when it comes to facing our deepest, darkest fears, a little humor goes a long way!

As I stated in an earlier post, I’ve have decided to reread/finish what has become know as The Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. And while I became side tracked by Vay on my iPhone, I’m going to start reviewing them. I’ve decided to review them in their published order as opposed to their chronological order, and to review them not as individual books, but by their original series grouping.

It is not my intention to give a detailed synopsis of these books, but to briefly summarize them and express my thoughts on the series as a whole. I will try not to give spoilers, but may bring up details to help me illustrate points in my review.

The first series in the Drizzt saga is The Icewind Dale Trilogy which consists of the books: The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver and The Halfling’s Gem.

The Crystal Shard: Originally published in 1988, The Crystal Shard centers around the struggles of the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden; exiled dwarven king, Bruenor Battlehammer; an orphaned barbarian youth, Wulfgar; and the sticky-fingered halfling Regis as they attempt to protect Ten-Towns, their home, from marauding barbarian tribes and an wizard held in thrall by an ancient crystal artifact.

The Streams of Silver: Published in 1989, The Streams of Silver chronicle Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulgar and Regis’s quest to reclaim Bruenor’s lost mountain kingdom, Mithril Hall, a source of untold riches and untold dangers. At the same time, Artemis Entreri, a hired assassin, is looking for Regis and has taken Bruenor’s adopted human daughter, Catti-brie, hostage.

The Halfling’s Gem: In the The Halfling’s Gem, the companions race to the desert city, Calimport to rescue Regis, who after being captured by Artemis Entreri, is being held prisoner by Pasha Pook. Along the way they battle pirates, brave the deserts of Calimshan, and fight monsters from other planes. The Halfling’s Gem was published in 1990.

Review: The Crystal Shard was R. A. Salvatore’s first novel and one of TSR’s, the original publishers, first novels to take place in their newly created Dungeons & Dragons’ role-playing setting: The Forgotten Realms. It was originally written as a stand-alone novel, but was later tuned into a trilogy. This contributes to a disjointed read; this isn’t one story told over three books, but three separate stories roughly sewn together to make a trilogy.

When reading a novel, and especially a fantasy novel, the author must ask the reader to suspend their sense of disbelief. That sense of disbelief is suspended by degrees depending on the setting of the story. This is where Salvatore shows his inexperience. Quite often his characters would be more at home in say, the Marvel or DC universe, as opposed to a fantasy setting. His characters are disproportionally too powerful compared to the rest of the world. Wulgar is prime example of this: Wulgar is a human teen raised by Bruenor, and has spent a half dozen years working in the smithy, as such, he is exceptionally strong. But at his core, Wulgar is still human, and needs to be governed by the laws of nature like everyone else. When Salvatore has Wulfgar lift and toss a camel at desert bandits, or slay a dozen giants nearly single handed, my suspension of disbelief is stretched too thin. While these exploits can contribute to a fun read, more often than not, they have the unintended effect of pulling the reader out of the story.

Another contributing factor to the roughness of these stories is the newness of the setting. The Forgotten Realms is now twenty years old, and dozens of authors and editors have contributed to making it a fully realized world that can be drawn upon for novels. But in 1988 Salvatore was making it up as he went, and this leads to continuity issues. The most grievous being the use of our calendar months within The Forgotten Realms world. It’s a small slip, but it completely threw me out of the story. A better alternative would have been better to refer to the time of the year as “late winter” or “early spring”.

I don’t want to nitpick on these books too much. They aren’t high art, but the don’t pretend to be. They are a fun, escapist read, that will appeal particularly to readers with a history of fantasy role-playing.

The Icewind Dale Trilogy can be purchased from Amazon as individual books or in omnibus form by clicking on the links above or the images below.

Brisingr book three of the Inheritance trilogy releases September 20.

The second book in the Paths of Darkness series.

From the publisher: Even the brutal streets of a treacherous city can’t hide a tortured soul forever.

The barbarian Wulfgar sets upon a dangerous path toward redemption when an old friend finds him in the city of Luskan. Wulfgar’s journey twists up the windswept peaks of the Spine of the World. He will persevere, for at the end lies his most prized possession—the life he thought he’d lost forever.

The first book in the Paths of Darkness series.

From the publisher: Wulfgar returns from the Abyss to find there are demons a hammer cannot crush.

Entreri has used his dagger to carve an empire in the back streets of Calimport, as he seeks the head of his oldest foe.

Drizzt learns that not all wounds bleed. And not all blades kill.

The last book in the Legacy of the Drow series.

From the publisher: Drizzt and Catti-brie have been away from Mithral Hall for six long years, but the pain of a lost companion still weighs heavily on their strong shoulders. Chasing pirates aboard Captain Deudermont’s Sea Sprite is enough to draw their attention away from their grief. Then a mysterious castaway on an uncharted island sends them back to the very source of their pain, and into the clutches of a demon with vengeance on his mind.

The third book in the Legacy of the Drow series.

From the publisher: Rising up from the black depths of the Underdark, the drow once more meet the dwarves of Mithral Hall. Bruenor Battlehammer, with Drizzt at his side, won’t go down without a fight—but they’ll have to fight without Wulfgar or Catti-brie at their sides.

The second book in the Legacy of the Drow series.

From the publisher: Still reeling from the death of Wulfgar, Drizzt is allowed little time to grieve, for dark elves are massing in the caverns deep under Mithral Hall. To protect his adopted home, he’ll have to return to the city of his birth, the evil City of Spiders. Menzoberranzan is one of the most dangerous places in the already perilous Underdark on a good day, but for Drizzt, a renegade with a price on his head, its certain death ever to set foot there again. But Drizzt Do’Urden and his companions have faced certain death before, and will gladly spend their lives for the sake of the dwarves of Mithral Hall.