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Forgotten Realms: The Fighters #3
Son of Thunder
It was the best thing that ever happened to him.
It was his god’s blessing.
It was hell.
Vell was content to be a mere warrior in the Thunderbeast tribe, staying behind on the hunt to guard the camp.
But then something alien awakened deep within him, the spirit of a behemoth that he could not control. With it came attacks from the sky, visitors from far lands, and a mysterious command from their ancestral totem: Find the living. And this time, no one was going to let him just stay behind.
It was his god’s blessing.
It was hell.
Vell was content to be a mere warrior in the Thunderbeast tribe, staying behind on the hunt to guard the camp.
But then something alien awakened deep within him, the spirit of a behemoth that he could not control. With it came attacks from the sky, visitors from far lands, and a mysterious command from their ancestral totem: Find the living. And this time, no one was going to let him just stay behind.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 10, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 12, 2024
This is one of the best FR's books I've read in awhile! I am always impressed when an author can get through enough background, plot, history, and world building in the 314 page count limit. But Leeder did it in spades!
We learn a lot about the Uthgar tribes that were introduced way back in the first Drizzt novels, but Leeder really expands on them more than any other FR novel I can think of (though I know they are definitely in other books). He does a good job of working in the politics and regional influences that don't necessarily touch the Uthgar tribes, and it really made the story dynamic.
There were a lot of interesting characters, and I think Leeder managed them well. Each was unique and individual (the main character might have been the most vanilla, but sometimes we need to build around a cliché). The plot moved quickly, and he fit a lot into the story. There was a good twist that I didn't see coming. A pretty epic and fun ending.
We learn a lot about the Uthgar tribes that were introduced way back in the first Drizzt novels, but Leeder really expands on them more than any other FR novel I can think of (though I know they are definitely in other books). He does a good job of working in the politics and regional influences that don't necessarily touch the Uthgar tribes, and it really made the story dynamic.
There were a lot of interesting characters, and I think Leeder managed them well. Each was unique and individual (the main character might have been the most vanilla, but sometimes we need to build around a cliché). The plot moved quickly, and he fit a lot into the story. There was a good twist that I didn't see coming. A pretty epic and fun ending.
December 1, 2022
I enjoyed this all the way through, which was a surprise to me for a couple reasons. First, barbarians not being my favorite class, and second "The Fighter" series have been average so far.
But the story, characters, twists, and adventure in a few hundred pages was a pleasure from start to end. Definitely one of the better Realms books.
But the story, characters, twists, and adventure in a few hundred pages was a pleasure from start to end. Definitely one of the better Realms books.
May 16, 2019
"Sometimes ancestry is something to be overcome, not embraced."
"...knowledge is the most valuable thing. But that doesn't mean it should hoarded. It should be freely to all."
"It is possible to make no mistakes, and yet fail."
"...knowledge is the most valuable thing. But that doesn't mean it should hoarded. It should be freely to all."
"It is possible to make no mistakes, and yet fail."
October 9, 2011
I liked Son of Thunder when I first read it, all those years ago. Surprisingly, re-reading it did not make me like it less, but actually made me like it even more. Simply remember the book, I would have ranked it a pretty good Forgotten Realms novel. Having re-read it, and having it fresh in my mind, I’d say it’s in my top five, in terms of favorite Forgotten Realms novels go.
As any of you who read my reviews know, I am a very character driven reader. A good character or three can redeem even the worst plotline, while even the best plotline can be spoiled by bad characters. Surprisingly, Son of Thunder did not have too many characters that I liked, and it was the plotline that really did it for me. Vell the Brown, the main protagonist, didn’t really do it for me. His character was purposefully supposed to be bland and ordinary, making his selection by the Thunderbeast totem all the more striking, but bland and ordinary protagonists are…well, bland and ordinary. He never had much of a personality throughout the book, and when his inner monologues and personality were highlighted, he came off as whiney and annoying (with good reason, though- he was transformed from an undistinguished Uthgart to were-Brachiosaurus)- he has that whole hero-who-doesn’t-want-to-be-a-hero-but-circumstances-dictate-that-he-has-no-choice vibe going. Kellin Lyme, the sorcereress from Candlekeep, she, too, was a bland personality. For the most part, all of the protagonists were.
The antagonists, on the other hand, were a lot more interesting. Lord Geildarr Ithym, Mayor of Llorkh, was an excellent character. He was not pure evil and maniacal, like many evil villains are. He was a self-serving type of evil, a much more realistic, relatable form. More importantly, though, he exhibited a side that a lot of Forgotten Realms villains don’t- a realistic side. He had interests outside of being evil, killing things, and so on. He was a collector, for example, of items of antiquity, both magical and mundane. He murdered the previous mayor, and was more-or-less installed by the Zhentarim, but he seemed to care about the residents of his city when it was being besieged during the endgame sequence. He liked feeling like he was in charge, but knew that he was ultimately at the whim of people more powerful than he- mainly Fzoul and Sememmon. Mythkar Leng, the Cyricist priest, was a character in the aforementioned “pure evil and maniacal” mold, but he pulled it off. It doesn’t get more evil than lighting a Treant on fire in the High Forest, sadistically torturing and corrupting a faerie just to see what would happen, and attempting to pollute and blaspheme the Unicorn Run. Ardeth Chale, Geildarr’s protégé, her character didn’t quite do it for me for most of the novel- I don’t like protagonists or antagonists who always seem to feel like they’re in control of any given situation, and have the power to back up their confidence. The swerve at the end, though, that she was actually a Shade agent manipulating Geildarr (and the Zhentarim), was really cool, though. Gan the Hobgoblin, a throw-away antagonists, sadly, I found his character more interesting than Kellin, one of the main protagonists. The Hobgoblin respecting and wanting to serve the strongest, and the effects that the magical axe had on him intensifying those urges, it made for an interesting dynamic, at any rate.
I am partial to the areas of the North that the novel primarily took place in- the High Forest, the Star Mounts- and the story elements that were featured- Netheril, dinosaurs- so maybe that colored my opinion of the setting and plotline, but all of that was A+. In general, the book was chock full of Realmslore. The power struggle within the Black Network between Bane and Cyric was highlighted. The Fountains of Memory were briefly featured, and were described nicely. We had an instance of wizard weather. Elaacrimalicros was briefly seen flying high across the sky. A flashback to a Netherese city after the Fall of High Netheril. Plenty of Uthgart history- their entire history, really, from their progenitors to the current day. The Grandfather Tree.
I do have a few nitpicks, though. The religious ceremony at the beginning of the novel, where Vell was “chosen” by the Thunderbeast totem, was too short. Within the span of a few pages, we go from being introduced to Vell and the other Uthgart, to suddenly Vell being a werecreature. It could have been stretched out a bit more. The burgeoning romance between Vell and Kellin also seemed a little out of place- I had forgotten about it, and was so disappointed when, ¾ of the way through the novel, a hokey romance sprung up; I thought I had a novel where hokey romances were not going to be found. The extent of their relationship was an embrace (I didn’t read it euphemistically), but suddenly, at the end, we have Vell wishing to leave everything for her, when she returns to Candlekeep. Seemed a bit silly.
As any of you who read my reviews know, I am a very character driven reader. A good character or three can redeem even the worst plotline, while even the best plotline can be spoiled by bad characters. Surprisingly, Son of Thunder did not have too many characters that I liked, and it was the plotline that really did it for me. Vell the Brown, the main protagonist, didn’t really do it for me. His character was purposefully supposed to be bland and ordinary, making his selection by the Thunderbeast totem all the more striking, but bland and ordinary protagonists are…well, bland and ordinary. He never had much of a personality throughout the book, and when his inner monologues and personality were highlighted, he came off as whiney and annoying (with good reason, though- he was transformed from an undistinguished Uthgart to were-Brachiosaurus)- he has that whole hero-who-doesn’t-want-to-be-a-hero-but-circumstances-dictate-that-he-has-no-choice vibe going. Kellin Lyme, the sorcereress from Candlekeep, she, too, was a bland personality. For the most part, all of the protagonists were.
The antagonists, on the other hand, were a lot more interesting. Lord Geildarr Ithym, Mayor of Llorkh, was an excellent character. He was not pure evil and maniacal, like many evil villains are. He was a self-serving type of evil, a much more realistic, relatable form. More importantly, though, he exhibited a side that a lot of Forgotten Realms villains don’t- a realistic side. He had interests outside of being evil, killing things, and so on. He was a collector, for example, of items of antiquity, both magical and mundane. He murdered the previous mayor, and was more-or-less installed by the Zhentarim, but he seemed to care about the residents of his city when it was being besieged during the endgame sequence. He liked feeling like he was in charge, but knew that he was ultimately at the whim of people more powerful than he- mainly Fzoul and Sememmon. Mythkar Leng, the Cyricist priest, was a character in the aforementioned “pure evil and maniacal” mold, but he pulled it off. It doesn’t get more evil than lighting a Treant on fire in the High Forest, sadistically torturing and corrupting a faerie just to see what would happen, and attempting to pollute and blaspheme the Unicorn Run. Ardeth Chale, Geildarr’s protégé, her character didn’t quite do it for me for most of the novel- I don’t like protagonists or antagonists who always seem to feel like they’re in control of any given situation, and have the power to back up their confidence. The swerve at the end, though, that she was actually a Shade agent manipulating Geildarr (and the Zhentarim), was really cool, though. Gan the Hobgoblin, a throw-away antagonists, sadly, I found his character more interesting than Kellin, one of the main protagonists. The Hobgoblin respecting and wanting to serve the strongest, and the effects that the magical axe had on him intensifying those urges, it made for an interesting dynamic, at any rate.
I am partial to the areas of the North that the novel primarily took place in- the High Forest, the Star Mounts- and the story elements that were featured- Netheril, dinosaurs- so maybe that colored my opinion of the setting and plotline, but all of that was A+. In general, the book was chock full of Realmslore. The power struggle within the Black Network between Bane and Cyric was highlighted. The Fountains of Memory were briefly featured, and were described nicely. We had an instance of wizard weather. Elaacrimalicros was briefly seen flying high across the sky. A flashback to a Netherese city after the Fall of High Netheril. Plenty of Uthgart history- their entire history, really, from their progenitors to the current day. The Grandfather Tree.
I do have a few nitpicks, though. The religious ceremony at the beginning of the novel, where Vell was “chosen” by the Thunderbeast totem, was too short. Within the span of a few pages, we go from being introduced to Vell and the other Uthgart, to suddenly Vell being a werecreature. It could have been stretched out a bit more. The burgeoning romance between Vell and Kellin also seemed a little out of place- I had forgotten about it, and was so disappointed when, ¾ of the way through the novel, a hokey romance sprung up; I thought I had a novel where hokey romances were not going to be found. The extent of their relationship was an embrace (I didn’t read it euphemistically), but suddenly, at the end, we have Vell wishing to leave everything for her, when she returns to Candlekeep. Seemed a bit silly.
June 12, 2016
I am not going to pretend that I like this book because I very obviously did not prefer it over others I have ever read. I suppose, if you haven't read fantasy-fiction before, this book would be a good one for you, but if you have and prefer the genre and excellent writing then you may be disappointed.
This is by no means an utter fiasco, but it is difficult to read and is filled with characters that seem to simply be cookie cutouts of other present characters. Take the two main, protagonist, characters named Vell and Kellin. Vell is the truest of the main characters; he is part of a barbarian tribe called the Thunderbeasts who becomes imbued with the powers of their god with the same name as their tribe. Kellin is a secondary, female, main character who is a sorceress scholar whose father studied the Thunderbeast tribe for many years. She becomes entangled in Vell's quest to fulfill a prophecy the Thunderbeast gives to him by taking over his body and speaking through him, saying, "Find the living."
The tribe goes on a quest to find the living, whatever that means (no spoilers here), while a rich Mayor of a merchant town called Llorkh strives to find artifacts that are also attached to the Thunderbeasts. These magical artifacts would be of great service to him while the Thunderbeasts obviously just want to fulfill and protect their god's wishes. It's truly just a classic story of attempting to save traditional, native practices while the more "advanced" civilizations attempt to take that away and use it for ill.
Kellin and Vell are replicas of each other in that they are both disgruntled, looking for something more, and stubborn in their right to express their thoughts and desires. The "bad guys" also resemble each other's personalities and it gets old fast. None of the characters stand out as they all seem to speak identically, despite the fact that they should be speaking different tongues. I guess they are all experts at that. Because of this, there is a lot of confusion at times trying to follow who is speaking and who isn't. Names like Thluna and Thanar and random characters that enter the story to conveniently speed the party along compounds the matter.
The story itself, as mentioned before, is bland in that it has been told before and it isn't cleverly disguised by new concepts or ideas. Even something as blatantly obvious as a giant tree called the "Grandfather Tree" which is a physical and symbolic representation of nature and tradition and peace among the natural paces of life is present as a stopping point for the quest.
The novel itself isn't terrible, it's just not great. It's somewhat engaging and a quick read, but it's just bland. It is wanting more in storytelling and difference to stand out in the vast world of pages.
This is by no means an utter fiasco, but it is difficult to read and is filled with characters that seem to simply be cookie cutouts of other present characters. Take the two main, protagonist, characters named Vell and Kellin. Vell is the truest of the main characters; he is part of a barbarian tribe called the Thunderbeasts who becomes imbued with the powers of their god with the same name as their tribe. Kellin is a secondary, female, main character who is a sorceress scholar whose father studied the Thunderbeast tribe for many years. She becomes entangled in Vell's quest to fulfill a prophecy the Thunderbeast gives to him by taking over his body and speaking through him, saying, "Find the living."
The tribe goes on a quest to find the living, whatever that means (no spoilers here), while a rich Mayor of a merchant town called Llorkh strives to find artifacts that are also attached to the Thunderbeasts. These magical artifacts would be of great service to him while the Thunderbeasts obviously just want to fulfill and protect their god's wishes. It's truly just a classic story of attempting to save traditional, native practices while the more "advanced" civilizations attempt to take that away and use it for ill.
Kellin and Vell are replicas of each other in that they are both disgruntled, looking for something more, and stubborn in their right to express their thoughts and desires. The "bad guys" also resemble each other's personalities and it gets old fast. None of the characters stand out as they all seem to speak identically, despite the fact that they should be speaking different tongues. I guess they are all experts at that. Because of this, there is a lot of confusion at times trying to follow who is speaking and who isn't. Names like Thluna and Thanar and random characters that enter the story to conveniently speed the party along compounds the matter.
The story itself, as mentioned before, is bland in that it has been told before and it isn't cleverly disguised by new concepts or ideas. Even something as blatantly obvious as a giant tree called the "Grandfather Tree" which is a physical and symbolic representation of nature and tradition and peace among the natural paces of life is present as a stopping point for the quest.
The novel itself isn't terrible, it's just not great. It's somewhat engaging and a quick read, but it's just bland. It is wanting more in storytelling and difference to stand out in the vast world of pages.
November 16, 2013
Son of Thunder, by Murray J.D. Leeder is part of the Forgotten Realms shared D&D setting, and part of the Fighters series. The series is more like an anthology than an actual series, with each entry about different characters and by a different author, with only the thematic connection that they all feature a protagonist that's a fighter or warrior of some sort. Overall, while I like most of the Forgotten Realms books, this particular series has been pretty weak. In addition, this is a first novel by the author, which is always a bit of a crap shoot. Therefore, going into this book, I wasn't expecting much. I was happily surprised that this was actually a very good book, with lots of character development, interesting settings and challenges, and is very faithful to both D&D and to the Forgotten Realms setting.
The story focuses on the Thunderbeast barbarian tribe of the North. This is a tribe that has lost its ties to its historic past and way of life, and the new chief therefore holds a religious rite with the entire tribe, to pray for guidance. At the conclusion of this rite, Vell the Brown, a warrior of the tribe of no special importance is selected and gifted with the supernatural powers of the tribe's totem beast, and must lead a quest to bring the tribe back to it's former glory. Vell must not only face the physical challenges that lay before him, but the psychological challenges of dealing with both the destiny laid before him, as well as the real danger of losing himself to the beast that takes over when he enters battle. Along the way, he meets an outlander sorceress, who further challenges his worldview, as well as representatives of the evil Zhentarim secret society. Leeder takes the reader through the High Forest, an area rarely detailed in either game product or fiction, and skillfully weaves in many bits of realmslore, including history of the Uthgardt barbarian tribes, the ancient empire of Netheril, the Empire of Shade, the Unicorn Run, and the previously mentioned Zhentarim and High Forest. Plus, if all that isn't enough, the book features dinosaurs! Highly recommended.
The story focuses on the Thunderbeast barbarian tribe of the North. This is a tribe that has lost its ties to its historic past and way of life, and the new chief therefore holds a religious rite with the entire tribe, to pray for guidance. At the conclusion of this rite, Vell the Brown, a warrior of the tribe of no special importance is selected and gifted with the supernatural powers of the tribe's totem beast, and must lead a quest to bring the tribe back to it's former glory. Vell must not only face the physical challenges that lay before him, but the psychological challenges of dealing with both the destiny laid before him, as well as the real danger of losing himself to the beast that takes over when he enters battle. Along the way, he meets an outlander sorceress, who further challenges his worldview, as well as representatives of the evil Zhentarim secret society. Leeder takes the reader through the High Forest, an area rarely detailed in either game product or fiction, and skillfully weaves in many bits of realmslore, including history of the Uthgardt barbarian tribes, the ancient empire of Netheril, the Empire of Shade, the Unicorn Run, and the previously mentioned Zhentarim and High Forest. Plus, if all that isn't enough, the book features dinosaurs! Highly recommended.
January 6, 2013
Better than the last two, but not saying much. Kind of a cool concept, but the Thunderbeast is an APATOSAURUS? Seriously? Interesting choice, but come on. There are so many rockin' predatory dinosaurs to choose from.
March 3, 2013
It was ok I guess... but felt a bit cliche. Had the cookie cutter elements of a fantasy story that didn't make it stand out from every other D&D type book out there.
Will I be keeping this book on my shelf? No
Will I be keeping this book on my shelf? No
August 13, 2012
slow and boring.
September 22, 2013
This is an all around decent fantasy read. Nothing really stuck out as amazing and nothing really stuck out as anything really bad. I enjoyed the book and I would read more from Mr. Leeder.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews