One New York Life

I took a break from this author for a bit to read a few other things. I decided to drop back in to fantasy to decide if I wanted to invest a year in Wheel of Time. The answer is probably “not me, not now” but that’s besides the point.

I hopped back in to another Salvatore book even after the crushing terribleness of Sea of Swords to give him another shot with a trilogy. The set-up is this — after years decades forever getting beat up by first-level PCs, from the ashes rises a great orc leader. An orc with brain enough to organize the goblin races enough to pose a serious threat to civilized people. A quartet of drow install Obould Many-Arrows as the leader of the orcs and arrange an alliance with the frost giants. The alliance begins running attacks against the towns of the north. I will, for purposes of enjoyment, put aside my difficulty accepting a brilliant orc after years of being conditioned that they’re nothing but dumb mules. Bruenor convinces the companions to go on one final adventure before he settles down to rule Mithril Hall forever.

Salvatore’s at his best here. He’s much better setting up multiple story threads to arc over a number of books. When he has the ability to create a bunch of different plot threads he can braid together over a lot of pages. In his single books, it comes across as two loosely related short stories. In 1000 pages of trilogy, it feels less forced.

There isn’t a whole lot of review to be done on the single book — it’d be like reviewing a prologue — but the opening was perfectly acceptable and good. A few thoughts, though:

1) Salvatore’s disdain for Delly Curty (the woman Wulfgar brought to Mithril Hall from Luskan) is apparent. After being a core character in bringing him back from the brink of insanity, she’s boxed in to nagging, insecure, jealous wife and person who looks after Colson. Once Salvatore feels he has no more use for characters, they’re not long for the world; regardless of how forced or stupid the death seems. I expect Delly to be dispatched with in the war. Instead of being Wulfgar’s “ground”, she’s just a non-adventurer who doesn’t “get it” and stays home watching the baby while he goes out to court death. Wulfgar going out on adventures just doesn’t sit right with me anymore — not with a wife and baby that he supposedly cares about at home. Drizzt and Catti-brie are one thing… should they go, they went out trying to protect one another. Wulfgar, on the other hand, leaves a baby at home. It makes him seem selfish more than heroic.

2) I have a good idea that this war campaign is going to be epic, as he’s drawing in as many characters as he can without seeming ridiculous. There’s no good reason for the Bouldershoulders to be involved other than he just wants more dwarves.

3) It is always interesting to me that bad rulers in fantasy books are always written exactly the same. They are rich, spoiled people who absolutely don’t understand their subjects. In this case, a ruler locks up a dwarf who is thinking of defecting to Mithril Hall. Rather than just letting him go and letting him be forgotten in a month, he instead locks him in a prison and turns him in to a cause. The decision shows a basic misunderstanding of how dwarves react to things and, instead, half his population defects to Mithral Hall… conveniently just as a war’s about to start.

While I do like the plot being laid out, I have a feeling I’m going to dislike the execution. One problem with Salvatore’s books is that the characters don’t grow much. Drizzt and Catti-brie have been flirting with no forward movement for 15 years. Wulfgar was crazy heroic barbarian who died and then had PTSD but found love and babies and is now back to crazy heroic barbarian who ignores love and babies. I have a hard time buying that all these characters are going to make the same decisions at almost 30 as they did at almost 18. Maybe it’s just my own off-my-lawniness talking. Not sure.

But, don’t want to get down on it before I have to. For now, good stuff.