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Forgotten Realms: Lady Penitent #3
Ascendancy of the Last
Is it the end for the Lady Penitent? Is it the end for Lolth?
Lolth has come out of hibernation with a plan that may seem too ambitious even for her, and to pull it off she'll need the help of a drow who's betrayed her at least once already--a drow she's transformed into the demonic Lady Penitent. The shocking conclusion to a trilogy that will change the Forgotten Realms world forever.
Lolth has come out of hibernation with a plan that may seem too ambitious even for her, and to pull it off she'll need the help of a drow who's betrayed her at least once already--a drow she's transformed into the demonic Lady Penitent. The shocking conclusion to a trilogy that will change the Forgotten Realms world forever.
312 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
19 people are currently reading
615 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Smedman
79 books114 followersLisa was very much the tomboy growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia--playing in the woods behind her house, building tree forts, damming the creek, playing army with GI Joe dolls, swinging on ropes, playing flashlight tag, building models and go-carts (which she later rode down the street). She also liked reading science fiction novels from the 1940s, the Doc Savage series, and the Harriet the Spy books.
In 1984, she began her professional writing career, first as a journalist then as a fiction writer. She counts science fiction authors Connie Willis, Robert J. Sawyer, and H.G. Wells, and classic books such as Treasure Island, as influences.
Several of Lisa's short science fiction and fantasy stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies, and in 1993 she was named a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest for science fiction and fantasy writers. She has also had three of her one-act plays produced by a Vancouver theater group.
Lisa is the author of Extinction, one of several novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game’s Forgotten Realms universe. Released in 2004, Extinction made the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.
After authoring several science fiction and fantasy novels, Lisa recently turned her hand to children's books. From Boneshakers to Choppers (2007) explores the social history of motorcycles. Her interest in motorcycles goes way back--as a teenager, Lisa enjoyed trips up the British Columbia coast, riding pillion on friends' motorcycles. She later purchased her own bike, a 50cc machine, to get around town.
Lisa is one of the founders of Adventures Unlimited, a magazine providing scenarios and tips for role-playing games. She has written short fiction for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game's Ravenloft and Dark Sun lines. She has also designed a number of adventures and gaming products for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Cyberpunk, Immortal, Shatterzone, Millennium's End, and Deadlands. Her original games include Valhalla's Gate, a tabletop skirmish miniatures game drawn from Norse mythology and runic lore. An avid gamer, Lisa belongs to the Trumpeter Wargaming Club.
After working for more than 20 years as a journalist, Lisa now divides her time between writing fiction and contributing to the Vancouver Courier (she edits and writes the History's Lens column). Besides a diploma in journalism, she also has a degree in anthropology. She is fascinated by history and archaeology, particularly the Bronze Age. Her future plans include writing more historical fiction, alternative historical fantasy, and game tie-in novels. Lisa is also interested in building models and dioramas, and tabletop miniatures gaming.
She lives in Richmond, British Columbia, with her wife, their son, four cats, and two pugs.
In 1984, she began her professional writing career, first as a journalist then as a fiction writer. She counts science fiction authors Connie Willis, Robert J. Sawyer, and H.G. Wells, and classic books such as Treasure Island, as influences.
Several of Lisa's short science fiction and fantasy stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies, and in 1993 she was named a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest for science fiction and fantasy writers. She has also had three of her one-act plays produced by a Vancouver theater group.
Lisa is the author of Extinction, one of several novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game’s Forgotten Realms universe. Released in 2004, Extinction made the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction.
After authoring several science fiction and fantasy novels, Lisa recently turned her hand to children's books. From Boneshakers to Choppers (2007) explores the social history of motorcycles. Her interest in motorcycles goes way back--as a teenager, Lisa enjoyed trips up the British Columbia coast, riding pillion on friends' motorcycles. She later purchased her own bike, a 50cc machine, to get around town.
Lisa is one of the founders of Adventures Unlimited, a magazine providing scenarios and tips for role-playing games. She has written short fiction for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game's Ravenloft and Dark Sun lines. She has also designed a number of adventures and gaming products for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Cyberpunk, Immortal, Shatterzone, Millennium's End, and Deadlands. Her original games include Valhalla's Gate, a tabletop skirmish miniatures game drawn from Norse mythology and runic lore. An avid gamer, Lisa belongs to the Trumpeter Wargaming Club.
After working for more than 20 years as a journalist, Lisa now divides her time between writing fiction and contributing to the Vancouver Courier (she edits and writes the History's Lens column). Besides a diploma in journalism, she also has a degree in anthropology. She is fascinated by history and archaeology, particularly the Bronze Age. Her future plans include writing more historical fiction, alternative historical fantasy, and game tie-in novels. Lisa is also interested in building models and dioramas, and tabletop miniatures gaming.
She lives in Richmond, British Columbia, with her wife, their son, four cats, and two pugs.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 3, 2016
What a great end to this trilogy! I read book two and now book three and I must say it was fantastic. Ok, the magic is sometimes really over the top and some battle scenes make me wonder why they are not resolved easily like other moments in the book but ok. The story was awesome though and kept me glued to the book. The many twists of the story keep you at the edge of your seat and the end is spectacular. Mind-boggling. Very clever!
September 19, 2016
It took me a while longer to finish the third book. I kept getting distracted with other things. This third book in the trilogy becomes quite a blood bath at the end, but I did like some of the twists that Smedman installed in regards to one character in particular who did survive.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book in regards to the various oozes and slimes facing our stalwart dark maiden priestesses.
The book kind of made me cringe with the whole turning of the drow back to their original form. I wasn't aware of such a world sweeping event taking place in the realms and I don't recall this done in other books or sources.
One almost needs a 4th book in order revisit some of the threads left hanging at the end of this novel.
Q'arlynd, the drow wizard, has a nice arc for himself in this book and would make an interesting enough character to me to support his own series.
Overall I liked the book. It did leave me a tad puzzled and still left questions unanswered which isn't good for a 3rd book in a trilogy when one is looking more for a decent conclusion and a sort of wrapping up of matters.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book in regards to the various oozes and slimes facing our stalwart dark maiden priestesses.
The book kind of made me cringe with the whole turning of the drow back to their original form. I wasn't aware of such a world sweeping event taking place in the realms and I don't recall this done in other books or sources.
One almost needs a 4th book in order revisit some of the threads left hanging at the end of this novel.
Q'arlynd, the drow wizard, has a nice arc for himself in this book and would make an interesting enough character to me to support his own series.
Overall I liked the book. It did leave me a tad puzzled and still left questions unanswered which isn't good for a 3rd book in a trilogy when one is looking more for a decent conclusion and a sort of wrapping up of matters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2016
Finalmente, con estrema fatica, sono riuscita a leggere questo benedetto romanzo che chiude la trilogia “dedicata” alla “Lady Penitent”.
Fatica per ragioni svariate, molte delle quali assolutamente da imputare a me e non al romanzo stesso, anche se ora che l’ho finito posso dire che parte dello zampino è anche suo.
Provo a farne una accurata analisi.
Trama:
La lunga, pericolosa partita a sava condotta dalle due divinità, Eilistraee e Lloth, prosegue sempre più spietata, sempre più pericolosa, più azzardata che mai. Le due immortali si mettono in gioco personalmente e la partita diventa troppo appetibile perché altri non vi si lascino coinvolgere. Ghaunadaur, Signore delle Melme, è uno di questi.
La posta in gioco? Il possesso esclusivo dei drow.
Durante la partita, Eilistraee mostra un lato di sé inedito, più acuto, più spregiudicato e incline al sotterfugio. Che sia il risultato della sospetta fusione tra lei e il fratello Vhaeraun?
Ma mentre gli dèi danno il meglio di sé per aggiudicarsi l’ambito premio, i mortali sanno muoversi di loro accordo e volere, riuscendo a non impersonare la scomoda parte di inermi pedine nelle mani dei loro Signori.
I fedeli di Eilistraee si troveranno così ad affrontare la minaccia di un ritorno di Ghaunadaur, proprio in un momento delicatissimo, in cui la loro guida Quiluè gioca la sua mano più mortale per la salvezza dei drow, danzando pericolosamente vicina a un partner infernale…
A Sshamat il Collegio dei Maghi lotta ancora contro gli effetti della Faerzness, la radiazione cui i drow sono legati fin da un tempo antichissimo e che adesso minaccia pericolosamente il delicato equilibrio magico della città.
Ognuno si muove secondo i propri scopi, su un filo sottile che parte molto lontano, per scavare nelle radici della storia più remota che ha dato vita alla scissione tra drow ed elfi.
Ma è un filo destinato a intrecciarsi e a sfociare nella più grande catastrofe e stravolgimento del mondo dei drow.
I Personaggi:
I personaggi che si muovono all’interno di questa “ultima danza” sono molteplici e tutti hanno un loro ruolo, un loro spessore, l’occasione di interferire con il loro operato sull’esito dei delicatissimi eventi. Dal mago Q’uarlynd, principale artefice di un’appassionatissima ricerca sulle origini dei drow, a Quiluè, Somma Sacerdotessa della Promenade (il più importante tempio di fede di Eilistraee) e prescelta della dèa, il cui amore sfrenato per i drow e una vita di lotte per salvarli dalla tirannia della Regina Ragno la conduce al più azzardato e letale dei rischi.
E ancora troveremo Wendonai, il campione demoniaco di Lloth, infido e importantissimo protagonista di tutta la vicenda;
Cavatina, la sacerdotessa che veste il titolo di Sacro Cavaliere della Canzone Oscura, nonché uccisore del semidio Selvetarm, esperta cacciatrice di demoni;
Leliana, sacerdotessa che veste il titolo di Protettrice del Tempio, e colei che per prima si imbatterà nei segnali del ritorno di Ghaunadaur;
Naxil, giovane mago Nightshadow, giunto alla Promenade dopo gli eventi che hanno visto la scomparsa/fusione di Vhaeraun. Affiancherà Leliana nelle prime ricerche ma il suo ruolo sorprenderà;
T’lar, assassina appartenente a un’elite speciale al servizio di Lloth. Cacciatrice spietata che più di una volta, nella sua devozione cieca agli ordini ricevuti, minaccerà i delicati equilibri in Sshamat e non solo;
Valar, Nightshadow il cui compito sarà pericolosissimo e delicatissimo, direttamente investito da Quiluè;
Halisstra, la Lady Penitent, sempre più follemente caotica e tormentata, la cui pazzia ormai incontrollata interferirà e modificherà spesso gli eventi.
Laeral, maga umana nonché una delle “Seven Sister” e prescelta di Mystra, sarà colei cui Quiluè si rivolgerà, in qualità di sorella, nel momento più delicato e di estremo pericolo.
Ci sono diversi altri personaggi il cui ruolo avrà un peso più o meno importante, per lo meno in alcune sezioni del libro, ma elencarli tutti comporterebbe raccontare il libro che invece va letto
Commento:
Ed eccomi al commento personale.
-Autrice-
Prima di tutto tanto di cappello alla Smedman. Non ho mai amato troppo questa autrice, ma qui l’ho davvero stimata perché un libro del genere era una sfida immane, che lei ha saputo affrontare con una maestria degna di nota. Cruda, violenta, oscura ai limiti dell’horror, se nelle prime cento pagine non mi ha conquistata in modo particolare, poi è diventata splendente e mozzafiato. Non era affatto facile sviluppare una storia di tale portata, con tanti intrecci sotterranei e insospettabili indizi, trattati con una capacità che mi ha fatto veramente ricredere sulle sue capacità.
Se in Extinction aveva ridotto, a mio parere il favoloso Ryld a un patetico zerbino di Halisstra, qui non ha dovuto avere a che fare con la psicologia drow e quindi ha potuto dare il meglio di sé.
Merito anche del terreno di gioco appunto. Se si deve parlare di drow di Eilistraee, molto più simili alla psicologia umana, ci sa fare.
L’unica vera drow che si trova a dover trattare in questo romanzo è T’lar, ma il personaggio è venuto fuori piuttosto sfuocato, spietato nelle azioni ma del tutto privo di approfondimento psicologico.
A dispetto della sua, a mio avviso, scarsa confidenza con la psicologia della razza, la Smedman mostra un vero talento invece nello sviluppare una storia con intrecci profondi, impossibili, complicatissimi e lo fa con una maestria che rende tutto lineare e di facile comprensione. Una dote che non è da tutti.
Belli anche i tocchi lugubri del libro (più che tocchi, una vera, costante atmosfera di fondo), degni di un regista di film horror di prim’ordine.
-Lo Stile-
La Smedman ha uno stile di facile approccio, eppure non banale e con punte di ricchezza che più di una volta mi hanno fatto dire ad alta voce “Brava”.
Sa combinare atmosfere cupe e dipingerle in toni davvero epici, con una leggerezza di mano notevolmente affilata. Le descrizioni sono equilibrate, rendono l’idea perfettamente sia degli ambienti, che dei personaggi, senza diventare mai troppo pesanti. Sa introdurre gli elementi di tensione con una naturalezza disarmante, che sa sorprendere ed emozionare al punto giusto e al momento giusto. Talvolta è ripetitiva, ma ogni autore in fondo ha le proprie immagini ricorrenti, quelle che preferisce e che ama estrarre dalla penna di quando in quando. Di fatto, a una lettura più superficiale, tali ripetizioni nemmeno si colgono.
Sullo sviluppo psicologico dei personaggi è un po’ più debole. Ci sono buoni accenni, ma mai gli approfondimenti che qualche volta il lettore si trova a desiderare. A me è capitato in particolar modo con Naxil. Un personaggio che avrebbe meritato qualche riga in più a mio parere, che mi sarebbe piaciuto vedere meglio, vedere come era “dentro” e non solo attraverso le sue azioni.
Nemmeno a dirlo, questo è un parere del tutto personale che altri lettori invece possono tranquillamente non riscontrare, né desiderare.
-La Storia-
Mi chiedo ancora perché l’intera trilogia sia stata chiamata “The Lady Penitent”. Di fatto Halisstra riveste sì un ruolo importante, ma non primario. Affatto. Per interi capitoli nemmeno compare, quasi ci si possa scordare di lei e le sue azioni non sono più importanti di quelle compiute da altri personaggi.
A parte questo, la storia l’ho odiata e amata al tempo stesso.
Amata perché è spettacolare, complessa come piace a me, molto matura. Raccontare la “Discesa” dei drow in toni così oscuri era il massimo, e le vicende non sono banali, non sono spiegate con la semplice “guerra degli dèi”, ma con qualcosa di più profondo.
Odiata per il finale, spaventosamente deludente per me, dove la manina pesante della Wizards fa sentire in tutto il suo squallore il lezzo della manovra commerciale per dare in pasto ai nuovi giocatori qualcosa di “facile interpretazione”. Patetico.
È la spudorata scelta della “quantità” a dispetto della “qualità”.
I drow sono di difficilissima interpretazione, con una psicologia complessa che a dispetto della montagna di giocatori che si prodigano a interpretarli, è compresa solo da pochissimi di loro. Dunque ecco che nasce qualcosa di più accessibile, buono anche per i “bimbiminkia” che vogliono fare il pg potente, senza sbattersi per l’interpretazione psicologica. Insomma, diventa sempre più un gioco per ragazzini che per adulti e questo mi dispiace molto.
In effetti mi dispiace ancora di più davanti alla complessità ricca con cui è stata sviluppata la storia passata dei drow. Qualcosa di contraddittorio a ben pensarci: ci sono le basi per creare vicende e interpretazioni di grandissimo spessore, ma poi viene tutto gettato in pasto a un approccio immaturo e più superficiale, che mai approfondirà certe tematiche, tipico del nuovo stile cui volge il proprio sguardo d&d. Un vero peccato.
In conclusione, il libro merita di essere letto assolutamente. Ci dice dove vanno i drow, ma soprattutto da dove vengono e la loro provenienza, da sempre solo accennata attraverso il racconto contraddittorio di guerre tra divinità, è veramente geniale e accattivante.
Tappatevi il naso però sull’ultimo capitolo. Ho il sospetto, per come è stato sviluppato frettolosamente, che nemmeno alla Smedman sia piaciuto.
Fatica per ragioni svariate, molte delle quali assolutamente da imputare a me e non al romanzo stesso, anche se ora che l’ho finito posso dire che parte dello zampino è anche suo.
Provo a farne una accurata analisi.
Trama:
La lunga, pericolosa partita a sava condotta dalle due divinità, Eilistraee e Lloth, prosegue sempre più spietata, sempre più pericolosa, più azzardata che mai. Le due immortali si mettono in gioco personalmente e la partita diventa troppo appetibile perché altri non vi si lascino coinvolgere. Ghaunadaur, Signore delle Melme, è uno di questi.
La posta in gioco? Il possesso esclusivo dei drow.
Durante la partita, Eilistraee mostra un lato di sé inedito, più acuto, più spregiudicato e incline al sotterfugio. Che sia il risultato della sospetta fusione tra lei e il fratello Vhaeraun?
Ma mentre gli dèi danno il meglio di sé per aggiudicarsi l’ambito premio, i mortali sanno muoversi di loro accordo e volere, riuscendo a non impersonare la scomoda parte di inermi pedine nelle mani dei loro Signori.
I fedeli di Eilistraee si troveranno così ad affrontare la minaccia di un ritorno di Ghaunadaur, proprio in un momento delicatissimo, in cui la loro guida Quiluè gioca la sua mano più mortale per la salvezza dei drow, danzando pericolosamente vicina a un partner infernale…
A Sshamat il Collegio dei Maghi lotta ancora contro gli effetti della Faerzness, la radiazione cui i drow sono legati fin da un tempo antichissimo e che adesso minaccia pericolosamente il delicato equilibrio magico della città.
Ognuno si muove secondo i propri scopi, su un filo sottile che parte molto lontano, per scavare nelle radici della storia più remota che ha dato vita alla scissione tra drow ed elfi.
Ma è un filo destinato a intrecciarsi e a sfociare nella più grande catastrofe e stravolgimento del mondo dei drow.
I Personaggi:
I personaggi che si muovono all’interno di questa “ultima danza” sono molteplici e tutti hanno un loro ruolo, un loro spessore, l’occasione di interferire con il loro operato sull’esito dei delicatissimi eventi. Dal mago Q’uarlynd, principale artefice di un’appassionatissima ricerca sulle origini dei drow, a Quiluè, Somma Sacerdotessa della Promenade (il più importante tempio di fede di Eilistraee) e prescelta della dèa, il cui amore sfrenato per i drow e una vita di lotte per salvarli dalla tirannia della Regina Ragno la conduce al più azzardato e letale dei rischi.
E ancora troveremo Wendonai, il campione demoniaco di Lloth, infido e importantissimo protagonista di tutta la vicenda;
Cavatina, la sacerdotessa che veste il titolo di Sacro Cavaliere della Canzone Oscura, nonché uccisore del semidio Selvetarm, esperta cacciatrice di demoni;
Leliana, sacerdotessa che veste il titolo di Protettrice del Tempio, e colei che per prima si imbatterà nei segnali del ritorno di Ghaunadaur;
Naxil, giovane mago Nightshadow, giunto alla Promenade dopo gli eventi che hanno visto la scomparsa/fusione di Vhaeraun. Affiancherà Leliana nelle prime ricerche ma il suo ruolo sorprenderà;
T’lar, assassina appartenente a un’elite speciale al servizio di Lloth. Cacciatrice spietata che più di una volta, nella sua devozione cieca agli ordini ricevuti, minaccerà i delicati equilibri in Sshamat e non solo;
Valar, Nightshadow il cui compito sarà pericolosissimo e delicatissimo, direttamente investito da Quiluè;
Halisstra, la Lady Penitent, sempre più follemente caotica e tormentata, la cui pazzia ormai incontrollata interferirà e modificherà spesso gli eventi.
Laeral, maga umana nonché una delle “Seven Sister” e prescelta di Mystra, sarà colei cui Quiluè si rivolgerà, in qualità di sorella, nel momento più delicato e di estremo pericolo.
Ci sono diversi altri personaggi il cui ruolo avrà un peso più o meno importante, per lo meno in alcune sezioni del libro, ma elencarli tutti comporterebbe raccontare il libro che invece va letto
Commento:
Ed eccomi al commento personale.
-Autrice-
Prima di tutto tanto di cappello alla Smedman. Non ho mai amato troppo questa autrice, ma qui l’ho davvero stimata perché un libro del genere era una sfida immane, che lei ha saputo affrontare con una maestria degna di nota. Cruda, violenta, oscura ai limiti dell’horror, se nelle prime cento pagine non mi ha conquistata in modo particolare, poi è diventata splendente e mozzafiato. Non era affatto facile sviluppare una storia di tale portata, con tanti intrecci sotterranei e insospettabili indizi, trattati con una capacità che mi ha fatto veramente ricredere sulle sue capacità.
Se in Extinction aveva ridotto, a mio parere il favoloso Ryld a un patetico zerbino di Halisstra, qui non ha dovuto avere a che fare con la psicologia drow e quindi ha potuto dare il meglio di sé.
Merito anche del terreno di gioco appunto. Se si deve parlare di drow di Eilistraee, molto più simili alla psicologia umana, ci sa fare.
L’unica vera drow che si trova a dover trattare in questo romanzo è T’lar, ma il personaggio è venuto fuori piuttosto sfuocato, spietato nelle azioni ma del tutto privo di approfondimento psicologico.
A dispetto della sua, a mio avviso, scarsa confidenza con la psicologia della razza, la Smedman mostra un vero talento invece nello sviluppare una storia con intrecci profondi, impossibili, complicatissimi e lo fa con una maestria che rende tutto lineare e di facile comprensione. Una dote che non è da tutti.
Belli anche i tocchi lugubri del libro (più che tocchi, una vera, costante atmosfera di fondo), degni di un regista di film horror di prim’ordine.
-Lo Stile-
La Smedman ha uno stile di facile approccio, eppure non banale e con punte di ricchezza che più di una volta mi hanno fatto dire ad alta voce “Brava”.
Sa combinare atmosfere cupe e dipingerle in toni davvero epici, con una leggerezza di mano notevolmente affilata. Le descrizioni sono equilibrate, rendono l’idea perfettamente sia degli ambienti, che dei personaggi, senza diventare mai troppo pesanti. Sa introdurre gli elementi di tensione con una naturalezza disarmante, che sa sorprendere ed emozionare al punto giusto e al momento giusto. Talvolta è ripetitiva, ma ogni autore in fondo ha le proprie immagini ricorrenti, quelle che preferisce e che ama estrarre dalla penna di quando in quando. Di fatto, a una lettura più superficiale, tali ripetizioni nemmeno si colgono.
Sullo sviluppo psicologico dei personaggi è un po’ più debole. Ci sono buoni accenni, ma mai gli approfondimenti che qualche volta il lettore si trova a desiderare. A me è capitato in particolar modo con Naxil. Un personaggio che avrebbe meritato qualche riga in più a mio parere, che mi sarebbe piaciuto vedere meglio, vedere come era “dentro” e non solo attraverso le sue azioni.
Nemmeno a dirlo, questo è un parere del tutto personale che altri lettori invece possono tranquillamente non riscontrare, né desiderare.
-La Storia-
Mi chiedo ancora perché l’intera trilogia sia stata chiamata “The Lady Penitent”. Di fatto Halisstra riveste sì un ruolo importante, ma non primario. Affatto. Per interi capitoli nemmeno compare, quasi ci si possa scordare di lei e le sue azioni non sono più importanti di quelle compiute da altri personaggi.
A parte questo, la storia l’ho odiata e amata al tempo stesso.
Amata perché è spettacolare, complessa come piace a me, molto matura. Raccontare la “Discesa” dei drow in toni così oscuri era il massimo, e le vicende non sono banali, non sono spiegate con la semplice “guerra degli dèi”, ma con qualcosa di più profondo.
Odiata per il finale, spaventosamente deludente per me, dove la manina pesante della Wizards fa sentire in tutto il suo squallore il lezzo della manovra commerciale per dare in pasto ai nuovi giocatori qualcosa di “facile interpretazione”. Patetico.
È la spudorata scelta della “quantità” a dispetto della “qualità”.
I drow sono di difficilissima interpretazione, con una psicologia complessa che a dispetto della montagna di giocatori che si prodigano a interpretarli, è compresa solo da pochissimi di loro. Dunque ecco che nasce qualcosa di più accessibile, buono anche per i “bimbiminkia” che vogliono fare il pg potente, senza sbattersi per l’interpretazione psicologica. Insomma, diventa sempre più un gioco per ragazzini che per adulti e questo mi dispiace molto.
In effetti mi dispiace ancora di più davanti alla complessità ricca con cui è stata sviluppata la storia passata dei drow. Qualcosa di contraddittorio a ben pensarci: ci sono le basi per creare vicende e interpretazioni di grandissimo spessore, ma poi viene tutto gettato in pasto a un approccio immaturo e più superficiale, che mai approfondirà certe tematiche, tipico del nuovo stile cui volge il proprio sguardo d&d. Un vero peccato.
In conclusione, il libro merita di essere letto assolutamente. Ci dice dove vanno i drow, ma soprattutto da dove vengono e la loro provenienza, da sempre solo accennata attraverso il racconto contraddittorio di guerre tra divinità, è veramente geniale e accattivante.
Tappatevi il naso però sull’ultimo capitolo. Ho il sospetto, per come è stato sviluppato frettolosamente, che nemmeno alla Smedman sia piaciuto.
August 11, 2025
The first two books in the series were great. While Lady Penitent #3 offers a decent ending, it feels rushed and/or heavily edited to keep it to the required low page count. At this point there are way too many characters & plotlines to fit into mere 300 pages, and it feels like numerous important events and characters are rushed or overlooked.
I enjoyed the addition of Ghaunadaur and all the ooze/slime enemies. Similar to the preceding two books, AOTL felt appropriately dark and visceral for a story about the drow-- the new enemies were a good fit and offered interesting challenges to the characters. However, the overarching plot regarding Ghaunadaur's purpose/motivation was rather unclear, and the end to that plotline was incredibly abrupt and confusing.
Other major characters get abbreviated plotlines where it feels like large chunks were either overlooked or edited out, which makes the overall story confusing and choppy. One example is: Q'arlynd sets out for some magical pools to get a vision of the past which is needed for the big ritual to happen. No one knows how these work, and it's also debatable whether they will actually work at all. But he manages to teleport to the first of the pools-- where he gets distracted by an unrelated vision. It's also shown that he is being stalked and is in imminent danger. After the vision, however, it immediately cuts away to another character's POV. The next time we're back to Q'arlynd, he is in a completely different area and has apparently done the pool stuff already. Um, so WTF happened at the pools? What the heck is he doing now and why? etc.
There are several times where semi-major characters show up or get mentioned, seem to have a purpose, and then are just sort of forgotten about until they randomly appear much later or are never heard from again. For example... I liked Leliana's arc in the preceding books, however in this one she doesn't show up until the middle, seems to have an important plotline, but then gets trapped with Cavatina is just sort of forgotten about until the end where she does, uh... something? I can't even remember. Even major characters like Cavatina and Halisstra feel rushed and shallow. Again, this book needed another 100+ pages to do justice to all the interwoven plots.
There were also a few times I noticed characters having thoughts about scenes/events that they weren't part of and therefore wouldn't have knowledge of (or that the reader was supposed to know, but wasn't included in the narrative). So again, it feels like stuff was removed during editing, but the narrative wasn't tightened up to account for it.
Anyhow, overall the book is enjoyable enough and carries on the same tone as the rest of the trilogy. While it's definitely not bad, it is disappointing compared to the first two books. The actual ending itself was definitely a choice-- I like the weight of it and how it gives the trilogy serious impact in-universe, however I'm very confused as to what the actual aftermath is going to look like. Additionally, since it's not actual canon it doesn't matter in the context of Forgotten Realms lore at large.
I enjoyed the addition of Ghaunadaur and all the ooze/slime enemies. Similar to the preceding two books, AOTL felt appropriately dark and visceral for a story about the drow-- the new enemies were a good fit and offered interesting challenges to the characters. However, the overarching plot regarding Ghaunadaur's purpose/motivation was rather unclear, and the end to that plotline was incredibly abrupt and confusing.
Other major characters get abbreviated plotlines where it feels like large chunks were either overlooked or edited out, which makes the overall story confusing and choppy. One example is: Q'arlynd sets out for some magical pools to get a vision of the past which is needed for the big ritual to happen. No one knows how these work, and it's also debatable whether they will actually work at all. But he manages to teleport to the first of the pools-- where he gets distracted by an unrelated vision. It's also shown that he is being stalked and is in imminent danger. After the vision, however, it immediately cuts away to another character's POV. The next time we're back to Q'arlynd, he is in a completely different area and has apparently done the pool stuff already. Um, so WTF happened at the pools? What the heck is he doing now and why? etc.
There are several times where semi-major characters show up or get mentioned, seem to have a purpose, and then are just sort of forgotten about until they randomly appear much later or are never heard from again. For example... I liked Leliana's arc in the preceding books, however in this one she doesn't show up until the middle, seems to have an important plotline, but then gets trapped with Cavatina is just sort of forgotten about until the end where she does, uh... something? I can't even remember. Even major characters like Cavatina and Halisstra feel rushed and shallow. Again, this book needed another 100+ pages to do justice to all the interwoven plots.
There were also a few times I noticed characters having thoughts about scenes/events that they weren't part of and therefore wouldn't have knowledge of (or that the reader was supposed to know, but wasn't included in the narrative). So again, it feels like stuff was removed during editing, but the narrative wasn't tightened up to account for it.
Anyhow, overall the book is enjoyable enough and carries on the same tone as the rest of the trilogy. While it's definitely not bad, it is disappointing compared to the first two books. The actual ending itself was definitely a choice-- I like the weight of it and how it gives the trilogy serious impact in-universe, however I'm very confused as to what the actual aftermath is going to look like. Additionally, since it's not actual canon it doesn't matter in the context of Forgotten Realms lore at large.
June 27, 2016
Well, it was a fun read, especially for a third book in a trilogy set in an RPG world. I think it moved a bit too fast at first, jumping around between quite a few different sets of people with quite a bit of time gap in between them, but it did pull the threads of the story together at the end. I'm giving it 3 stars because it was an enjoyable story until the end.
The end was pretty ridiculous and seemed very rushed. Characters are used haphazardly, and act uncharacteristically stupid. The author brings in Laeral, a super powerful genius wizard to help out, but while all the author's normal characters are acting as if they're all epic level, Laeral acts like a newbie with few resources when, honestly, she should have been able to just wave her hands and take care of the problem. Even the goddess Eilistraee is even dumber than normal. And yes, everyone was super high level in this book, all of a sudden. The main characters went from having trouble with basic teleports and weak opponents to casting high magic and using miracle spells.
There were also a number of inconsistencies, like Calvatina getting beheaded with the soul killing artifact sword, but having her soul still show up in the afterlife. Or Q'arlynd casting a 'miracle' spell granted by Eilistraee, which is already messed up because it's a cleric spell and he's a wizard, but extra messed up because the goddess was already dead at that point. Weird. Plus, everyone seemed perplexed by the Ethereal Plane, which, honestly, everyone who lives in a dnd world should already know about. Judging by what all those clerics can do later on in the story, plane shifting back home should have been simple. Also, all that stuff at the beginning about the constructs running around never went anywhere either.
The quality of the editing fell off as well, and they kept leaving periods off of the end of sentences, which was annoying.
As for the actual end of the story? This is one of those books where you can tell the author was told, "Okay, so we need to take X concept from a previous series, and it needs to end with Y. This will 'shake things up', and we totally won't leave you hanging by changing the entire back story of the world you're writing in by the time you finish (hides crossed fingers behind back)".
Long story short? Yes, a bunch of crazy stuff happens at the end, including the death of a somewhat major drow goddess and changing some of the drow into surface dark elves, which would be neat and all, except that the entire concept was immediately dropped. Why? Because a) 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons came out, which b) threw most of the current lore away and c) advanced the timeline of Faerun/Forgotten Realms/Realmspace forward a century. Interestingly, a more popular author, R.A. Salvatore, who has is own series of novels, treated the entirety of 4th Edition as a flashback, then started over with 5th edition.
Now, it appears that in the case of this series, 4th edition did leave Eilistraee dead, but 5th brought her right back. It doesn't sound like anything was ever followed up on with some of the drow becoming 'dark surface elves', and indeed, the story pulled back on that big time just before the end, suddenly saying that for some reason only the few drow (numbering in the hundreds) who didn't descend in any way from a particularly prolific balor demon were changed/redeemed/uplifted, leaving hundreds of thousands of drow to remain the same. That doesn't seem like it was that great of a deal! It seemed tacked on at the end.
We also never hear any more about the drow brother and sister main characters of the story. The wizard, Q'arlynd, I guess just keeps wizarding it up on the surface? He doesn't seem terribly broken up about having lost his patron goddess or his Wizard College, nor does his kiira lore gem, which, by the way, went from being filled with ancient Eilistraee worshipers to having but one in there. Anyway, that wizard college has been his goal for years, so you'd think it would be mentioned. Meanwhile, Hallistra was killed, true, but why don't we get to see what happens to her soul afterwards like we do for pretty much everyone else? Where did it go? It's not like any of the crazy stuff she ended up doing was her fault... they could have fixed her mind long ago with a heal spell!
Speaking of the two of them... One of the running gags throughout the trilogy was that everyone but them seemed to know about how they were both alive. Hallistra thought Q'arlynd had been killed when Ched Nesad was destroyed, and he thought she died at the same time. He did find out about her part in the crusade to kill Lloth, but was told that she had died back then. Since then, no one had told either of them about the other, and they kept either just missing each other or not recognizing each other throughout the books. So, here they each find out the other is alive... and then... what? She just keeps being crazy (and orders his death), but doesn't think about it again. He finds out, feels bad, but then the story just sort of forgets about it. Her sister is one of the main causes for him being 'good', so that's super annoying!
So yeah, a lot of stuff happened, but it was all either ignored in the greater Forgotten Realms or superseded, because this book came out the same month as the 4th Edition DnD Players Handbook.
That may seem like rotten timing for the book, but I think that this book, and by extension, DnD as a whole, dodged a bullet through this books relative obscurity. Why? Because of what happened to the Drow elves at the end.
Look, the whole point of the Drow is that they're elves that have been cursed to be evil and live below ground. The curse also made their skins pitch black. So now you have (for decades at this point) good elves being white, and evil elves being black. It sounds super racist in real life, but the retort has always been that it was okay, because it's just a curse, and it isn't a natural skin color. They also describe them as being pitch black, or ebony, while portraying them as dark purple in their cover art... for example, this book!
However, this story takes the curse off a number of the Drow elves, and wouldn't you know, their skin is brown, which is definitely a real skin color. So yes, in this book, the author decided to have DnD be both racist and retroactively racist. Luckily, its publication date fell into that limbo between editions (a 3.5 based book released during 4th edition) and can be safely written right the hell out of DnD history... which is what seems to have happened.
I wonder if that's why Lisa Smedman wrote nine DnD books between 2002 and 2008, then only one other book in 2012, and nothing since? I'd say that's for the best.
The end was pretty ridiculous and seemed very rushed. Characters are used haphazardly, and act uncharacteristically stupid. The author brings in Laeral, a super powerful genius wizard to help out, but while all the author's normal characters are acting as if they're all epic level, Laeral acts like a newbie with few resources when, honestly, she should have been able to just wave her hands and take care of the problem. Even the goddess Eilistraee is even dumber than normal. And yes, everyone was super high level in this book, all of a sudden. The main characters went from having trouble with basic teleports and weak opponents to casting high magic and using miracle spells.
There were also a number of inconsistencies, like Calvatina getting beheaded with the soul killing artifact sword, but having her soul still show up in the afterlife. Or Q'arlynd casting a 'miracle' spell granted by Eilistraee, which is already messed up because it's a cleric spell and he's a wizard, but extra messed up because the goddess was already dead at that point. Weird. Plus, everyone seemed perplexed by the Ethereal Plane, which, honestly, everyone who lives in a dnd world should already know about. Judging by what all those clerics can do later on in the story, plane shifting back home should have been simple. Also, all that stuff at the beginning about the constructs running around never went anywhere either.
The quality of the editing fell off as well, and they kept leaving periods off of the end of sentences, which was annoying.
As for the actual end of the story? This is one of those books where you can tell the author was told, "Okay, so we need to take X concept from a previous series, and it needs to end with Y. This will 'shake things up', and we totally won't leave you hanging by changing the entire back story of the world you're writing in by the time you finish (hides crossed fingers behind back)".
Long story short? Yes, a bunch of crazy stuff happens at the end, including the death of a somewhat major drow goddess and changing some of the drow into surface dark elves, which would be neat and all, except that the entire concept was immediately dropped. Why? Because a) 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons came out, which b) threw most of the current lore away and c) advanced the timeline of Faerun/Forgotten Realms/Realmspace forward a century. Interestingly, a more popular author, R.A. Salvatore, who has is own series of novels, treated the entirety of 4th Edition as a flashback, then started over with 5th edition.
Now, it appears that in the case of this series, 4th edition did leave Eilistraee dead, but 5th brought her right back. It doesn't sound like anything was ever followed up on with some of the drow becoming 'dark surface elves', and indeed, the story pulled back on that big time just before the end, suddenly saying that for some reason only the few drow (numbering in the hundreds) who didn't descend in any way from a particularly prolific balor demon were changed/redeemed/uplifted, leaving hundreds of thousands of drow to remain the same. That doesn't seem like it was that great of a deal! It seemed tacked on at the end.
We also never hear any more about the drow brother and sister main characters of the story. The wizard, Q'arlynd, I guess just keeps wizarding it up on the surface? He doesn't seem terribly broken up about having lost his patron goddess or his Wizard College, nor does his kiira lore gem, which, by the way, went from being filled with ancient Eilistraee worshipers to having but one in there. Anyway, that wizard college has been his goal for years, so you'd think it would be mentioned. Meanwhile, Hallistra was killed, true, but why don't we get to see what happens to her soul afterwards like we do for pretty much everyone else? Where did it go? It's not like any of the crazy stuff she ended up doing was her fault... they could have fixed her mind long ago with a heal spell!
Speaking of the two of them... One of the running gags throughout the trilogy was that everyone but them seemed to know about how they were both alive. Hallistra thought Q'arlynd had been killed when Ched Nesad was destroyed, and he thought she died at the same time. He did find out about her part in the crusade to kill Lloth, but was told that she had died back then. Since then, no one had told either of them about the other, and they kept either just missing each other or not recognizing each other throughout the books. So, here they each find out the other is alive... and then... what? She just keeps being crazy (and orders his death), but doesn't think about it again. He finds out, feels bad, but then the story just sort of forgets about it. Her sister is one of the main causes for him being 'good', so that's super annoying!
So yeah, a lot of stuff happened, but it was all either ignored in the greater Forgotten Realms or superseded, because this book came out the same month as the 4th Edition DnD Players Handbook.
That may seem like rotten timing for the book, but I think that this book, and by extension, DnD as a whole, dodged a bullet through this books relative obscurity. Why? Because of what happened to the Drow elves at the end.
Look, the whole point of the Drow is that they're elves that have been cursed to be evil and live below ground. The curse also made their skins pitch black. So now you have (for decades at this point) good elves being white, and evil elves being black. It sounds super racist in real life, but the retort has always been that it was okay, because it's just a curse, and it isn't a natural skin color. They also describe them as being pitch black, or ebony, while portraying them as dark purple in their cover art... for example, this book!
However, this story takes the curse off a number of the Drow elves, and wouldn't you know, their skin is brown, which is definitely a real skin color. So yes, in this book, the author decided to have DnD be both racist and retroactively racist. Luckily, its publication date fell into that limbo between editions (a 3.5 based book released during 4th edition) and can be safely written right the hell out of DnD history... which is what seems to have happened.
I wonder if that's why Lisa Smedman wrote nine DnD books between 2002 and 2008, then only one other book in 2012, and nothing since? I'd say that's for the best.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2017
Ascendancy of the Last is the fitting conclusion to the Lady Penitent trilogy; unfortunately much of the extraordinary events that happen here have no lasting effect on the realms, which makes the trilogy somewhat irrelevant in the larger scheme of the universe.
The tale picks up with the Goddesses of Eilistraee and Lolth locked in a battle for the souls of the drow, which can only end with one of them being obliterated; the Drow pantheon is in shambles as it is. The god Ghanaudaur also rears its ugly head. All of their mortal followers have a unique role to play in the end game.
Smedman does a superb job wrapping up this trilogy. Each character arc is completed; from the wily drow sorcerer, Q'arlynd Melarn, to the zealous Darksong Knight, Cavatina, the chosen of Mystra, Qilue, and the tormented Lady Penitent herself, Halisstra Melarn. As this novel is very pantheon-centric, each character has a destiny intertwined with their respective Gods.
The story that unfolds here seems to have many repercussions in the larger world, yet it leaves more confusion as some of the events here are never alluded to again in the Forgotten Realms universe (there is much commentary on this floating around on the web); which is a shame because it could have been a good launching pad for a new series. Alas, these are the pitfalls of investing one's time into reading in a shared universe.
The tale picks up with the Goddesses of Eilistraee and Lolth locked in a battle for the souls of the drow, which can only end with one of them being obliterated; the Drow pantheon is in shambles as it is. The god Ghanaudaur also rears its ugly head. All of their mortal followers have a unique role to play in the end game.
Smedman does a superb job wrapping up this trilogy. Each character arc is completed; from the wily drow sorcerer, Q'arlynd Melarn, to the zealous Darksong Knight, Cavatina, the chosen of Mystra, Qilue, and the tormented Lady Penitent herself, Halisstra Melarn. As this novel is very pantheon-centric, each character has a destiny intertwined with their respective Gods.
The story that unfolds here seems to have many repercussions in the larger world, yet it leaves more confusion as some of the events here are never alluded to again in the Forgotten Realms universe (there is much commentary on this floating around on the web); which is a shame because it could have been a good launching pad for a new series. Alas, these are the pitfalls of investing one's time into reading in a shared universe.
September 21, 2020
Another Forgotten Realms book in the bag.
"Ascendancy of the Last" was a pretty fun romp through the Underdark of Forgotten Realms; however, I feel like I was left wanting at the end. Each book feels more like a stand alone story, not very much like a trilogy. The only real thing that connects the plot are the reoccurring characters and the bit of godly insight we get in the prologue and epilogue.
Also, the story sort of ends where it started. I feel like this happens more often in books where there is a large living landscape to write in. Where there are multiple authors manipulating the world. It seemed like Smedman created something just to destroy it. She is creating history for Forgotten Realms...not a story....and that's why I gave it three stars.
I did enjoy this book, but am rating it as the final book and on the merit of the entire series.
"Ascendancy of the Last" was a pretty fun romp through the Underdark of Forgotten Realms; however, I feel like I was left wanting at the end. Each book feels more like a stand alone story, not very much like a trilogy. The only real thing that connects the plot are the reoccurring characters and the bit of godly insight we get in the prologue and epilogue.
Also, the story sort of ends where it started. I feel like this happens more often in books where there is a large living landscape to write in. Where there are multiple authors manipulating the world. It seemed like Smedman created something just to destroy it. She is creating history for Forgotten Realms...not a story....and that's why I gave it three stars.
I did enjoy this book, but am rating it as the final book and on the merit of the entire series.
April 7, 2024
Q'arland Melarn had some of the best character progression I've ever read over the trilogy. I looked up the surviving characters at the end of the book and I'm very sad to see that they're isolated to this trilogy in the Forgotten Realms. I would love to see them return! Seeing as this final book was released in 2008 (16 years ago), that's probably not likely. Amazing trilogy!
January 1, 2020
Damn!
Well don't read this book if you liked the continuity of Faerun's pantheon. Though since it's a licensed work I guess we all have to get on the Corellon bandwagon. Read pretty quick and lots of action.
Well don't read this book if you liked the continuity of Faerun's pantheon. Though since it's a licensed work I guess we all have to get on the Corellon bandwagon. Read pretty quick and lots of action.
November 15, 2021
Lots of action, good battle scenes. Book suffers from too many characters and multiple plot lines. 3.75 stars.
August 1, 2022
I need time to digest this novel, but it kept me clinched from the first page to the last. I guess it was a worthy end to the Spider Queen novels. I wonder if there are more.
August 15, 2023
The ending felt rushed.
September 6, 2025
Shaggy dog AND bioessentialism? Pick a struggle
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2011
Such a controversial series. Such a controversial book. I’ll be frank, and say straight out that I found the book alright. I like just about as much of it as I dislike. Maybe the ratio is a little more tipped, in favor of liking it more than I do disliking it. But, either way, there are some major problems here. But, again, it’s not because of the most commonly cited “problem” with the book, that being Eilistraee dying. I, personally, never cared for Eilistraee (I never disliked her, either), so her death didn’t phase me too much. But, before I get to all of that, let me get to the plot and characters and such.
Q’arlynd has one of the worst names that there can be. I am an astute student of Realmslore, but I can never get his name correct. I simply refer to him most of the time as “Q’Whatever”. That being said, I never appreciated the character. He always seemed boring to me. The character, over the course of the trilogy, has gone through so many metamorphosis’s that, by this point, I’ve stopped caring about him. Evil, good, neutral, slave, slaver, leader, follower…This is really my complaint with most of the characters in this novel. Cavatina, Qilue, everyone seemingly has random and massive mood swings.
The plot…Well, I feel it a contrived way to eliminate the Drow Pantheon, and turn the Drow into a (mostly) monotheistic culture, rather than a polytheistic culture. It reeks of “plot armor”, the entire series, not just this book. Half of the things that happen over the course of the novel are impossible, and present large continuity gaffes. That they happen in the first place…Well, it seems to me like a start point and an end point were presented, and the author had to figure out just how the hell to get from Point A to Point B.
My biggest problem with this novel are the continuity gaffes. It’s not the death of the Masked Lady. It’s not the death of Qilue. It’s not the death of anyone else. It’s the death of continuity. I’ll just point out a few. Drow, casting Elven High Magic? Drow, as we know, are incapable of casting Elven High Magic, stemming from their inability to achieve a total communal harmony, like Selu’Taar do. Yet, in the novel, they do. A Temple of Araushnee around 30,000 years old? She did not even know about the existence of Realmspace until well after she became Lolth, around the fall of Occidian. It was Kythrillia Amarillis (Sp?) that alerted her to Realmspace. If she had worshipers there already, she would have known about it. Thus, there could not have been a temple dedicated to Araushnee thatis 30,000 years old. By this point, she was already Lolth. Guldor Zauviir was a Wizard 20 / Archmage 2. He was killed with a simple slash of his throat. Why is it that a Level 22 caster had 0 contingencies protecting him from something like this? Those are just two problems…There’s plenty more, trust me.
Q’arlynd has one of the worst names that there can be. I am an astute student of Realmslore, but I can never get his name correct. I simply refer to him most of the time as “Q’Whatever”. That being said, I never appreciated the character. He always seemed boring to me. The character, over the course of the trilogy, has gone through so many metamorphosis’s that, by this point, I’ve stopped caring about him. Evil, good, neutral, slave, slaver, leader, follower…This is really my complaint with most of the characters in this novel. Cavatina, Qilue, everyone seemingly has random and massive mood swings.
The plot…Well, I feel it a contrived way to eliminate the Drow Pantheon, and turn the Drow into a (mostly) monotheistic culture, rather than a polytheistic culture. It reeks of “plot armor”, the entire series, not just this book. Half of the things that happen over the course of the novel are impossible, and present large continuity gaffes. That they happen in the first place…Well, it seems to me like a start point and an end point were presented, and the author had to figure out just how the hell to get from Point A to Point B.
My biggest problem with this novel are the continuity gaffes. It’s not the death of the Masked Lady. It’s not the death of Qilue. It’s not the death of anyone else. It’s the death of continuity. I’ll just point out a few. Drow, casting Elven High Magic? Drow, as we know, are incapable of casting Elven High Magic, stemming from their inability to achieve a total communal harmony, like Selu’Taar do. Yet, in the novel, they do. A Temple of Araushnee around 30,000 years old? She did not even know about the existence of Realmspace until well after she became Lolth, around the fall of Occidian. It was Kythrillia Amarillis (Sp?) that alerted her to Realmspace. If she had worshipers there already, she would have known about it. Thus, there could not have been a temple dedicated to Araushnee thatis 30,000 years old. By this point, she was already Lolth. Guldor Zauviir was a Wizard 20 / Archmage 2. He was killed with a simple slash of his throat. Why is it that a Level 22 caster had 0 contingencies protecting him from something like this? Those are just two problems…There’s plenty more, trust me.
August 1, 2015
Lisa Smedman finishes her series, The Lady Penitent, with the last book Ascendancy of the Last. Smedman finishes transforming the world of Forgotten Realms (FR) as the Drow pantheon settles into its final structure. Eilistraee continues to display the marked changes that were the result of events in Smedman’s Sacrifice of the Widow (Book 1). Although Ascendancy of the Last continues character plots from Smedman’s Storm of the Dead (Book 2), the pantheon changes that occurred in book 2 are not as relevant in this final episode.
The two Drow goddesses, Loth and Eilistraee, mother and daughter, continue to play their game of sava, when Eilistraee notices a change on her side of the board and accuses her mother of cheating. Loth just smiles as another player, Ghaunadaur, the greater deity of abominations and slimes. He has not only entered the game unbidden and uninvited, but has done so by surrounding Eilistraee’s pieces. There is history between Eilistraee and Ghaunadaur, explained in R.A. Salvatorer’s War of the Spider Queen Series, but Smedman quickly catches new readers up to speed by incorporating the past into the present through character plots.
Each chapter begins in typical FR style, providing the “Year of…” and the DR date, allowing Faerûn historians to easily place these events into the Forgotten Realms timeline. Qilué, Q’arlynd and Halisstra Marlarn, Cavatina, Kâras , and Wendonai continue to be manipulated by the goddesses play on the sava board while readers are introduced to several new characters who try to affect the out come of the game. Leliana, priestess of Eilistraee and Protector of the Promenade was mentioned in Storm of the Dead (Book 2), but now plays a pivotal role in events. Readers meet Tlar, an assassin of the Velkyn Velve, Molvayas, cleric of Ghaunadaur, Naxil, priest of the Masked Lady, and learn more about Laeral, one of the Seven Sisters and Chosen of Mystra, who was introduced in Ed Greenwood’s book, Silverfall: Stories of the Seven Sisters.
The story primarily takes place in the Promenade, Eilistraee’s primary temple in the Underdark, in Sshamath, the city rules by wizards, and a brief visit to Silverymoon. Readers will become entwined as Smedman’s characters reach the story’s climax and the Drow pantheon settles into its new structure. Smedman continues to wow readers with the shock factor as she wraps up The Lady Penitent series. For new fans to the world of Forgotten Realms, this series will quickly become a favorite read and established fans of Faerûn will appreciate the story behind the historical changes that have changed the Drow pantheon forever.
The two Drow goddesses, Loth and Eilistraee, mother and daughter, continue to play their game of sava, when Eilistraee notices a change on her side of the board and accuses her mother of cheating. Loth just smiles as another player, Ghaunadaur, the greater deity of abominations and slimes. He has not only entered the game unbidden and uninvited, but has done so by surrounding Eilistraee’s pieces. There is history between Eilistraee and Ghaunadaur, explained in R.A. Salvatorer’s War of the Spider Queen Series, but Smedman quickly catches new readers up to speed by incorporating the past into the present through character plots.
Each chapter begins in typical FR style, providing the “Year of…” and the DR date, allowing Faerûn historians to easily place these events into the Forgotten Realms timeline. Qilué, Q’arlynd and Halisstra Marlarn, Cavatina, Kâras , and Wendonai continue to be manipulated by the goddesses play on the sava board while readers are introduced to several new characters who try to affect the out come of the game. Leliana, priestess of Eilistraee and Protector of the Promenade was mentioned in Storm of the Dead (Book 2), but now plays a pivotal role in events. Readers meet Tlar, an assassin of the Velkyn Velve, Molvayas, cleric of Ghaunadaur, Naxil, priest of the Masked Lady, and learn more about Laeral, one of the Seven Sisters and Chosen of Mystra, who was introduced in Ed Greenwood’s book, Silverfall: Stories of the Seven Sisters.
The story primarily takes place in the Promenade, Eilistraee’s primary temple in the Underdark, in Sshamath, the city rules by wizards, and a brief visit to Silverymoon. Readers will become entwined as Smedman’s characters reach the story’s climax and the Drow pantheon settles into its new structure. Smedman continues to wow readers with the shock factor as she wraps up The Lady Penitent series. For new fans to the world of Forgotten Realms, this series will quickly become a favorite read and established fans of Faerûn will appreciate the story behind the historical changes that have changed the Drow pantheon forever.
February 11, 2015
This review on the whole series rather than just the individual books. I read this book when it first came out, so this review is a long time in coming, but here it goes. I love the Forgotten Realms, and while there are plenty of FR books out there I have not read, I love anything about elves and drow, so after reading War of the Spider Queen, naturally, I wanted to read Lady Penitent. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though the death of Vhaearun had me angered. Then he merged with Eilistraee (becoming the Masked Lady), and while I had mixed feelings about that, it was interesting to see the Vhaeraunites and the Eilistraeens slowly coming together. Then Eilistraee herself died. I panicked a little when this happened, because a few of my favorites characters, both in the past (Elkantar, Naxil, Valdar, etc) had in Lady Penitent, had died and either gone to Eilistraee's realm or Vhaeraun's--from my understanding, Vhaeraun's realm merged with Eilistraee's--so if she died, her realm would disappear, and what would happen to those souls? Fortunately, that didn't happen. Much to Lolth's chagrin, Eilistraee's realm did not disappear. Corellon saved it, and the souls of the faithful went to Arvandor. Whew.
My complaints have to do less with the novels themselves, than what has happened--or rather, what hasn't happened--since. So, some drow became dark elves right (the name is often used interchangeably)? Brown skin and black hair. But there has been no mention of them, at least as far as I know, sine LP. We've heard about Eilistraee's death, but not the results. The drow (other than Drizzt), have been rather quiet in FR, though there is this upcoming Rise of the Underdark. We'll see where that goes. I hope these matters are addressed.
An event known as the Sundering will be happening in FR next year (I have read about it, but will not discuss the details here), and rumors have it that some/all of the gods that were killed in the Spellplague are returning. Technically, E and V were killed prior to the Spellplague, but I sure hope they come back. Eilistraee in particular stands for so much in the Realms, and killing her was, in my opinion, a terrible move. I could go on and on about this, but I won't.
My complaints have to do less with the novels themselves, than what has happened--or rather, what hasn't happened--since. So, some drow became dark elves right (the name is often used interchangeably)? Brown skin and black hair. But there has been no mention of them, at least as far as I know, sine LP. We've heard about Eilistraee's death, but not the results. The drow (other than Drizzt), have been rather quiet in FR, though there is this upcoming Rise of the Underdark. We'll see where that goes. I hope these matters are addressed.
An event known as the Sundering will be happening in FR next year (I have read about it, but will not discuss the details here), and rumors have it that some/all of the gods that were killed in the Spellplague are returning. Technically, E and V were killed prior to the Spellplague, but I sure hope they come back. Eilistraee in particular stands for so much in the Realms, and killing her was, in my opinion, a terrible move. I could go on and on about this, but I won't.
November 1, 2014
Just as good and exciting to read as the six books of ‘The War of the Spider Queen’ saga. This trilogy is a delightful and fun read for all fans of the drow. Lisa Smedman gives us more of their hidden history, as the surface elves and drow continue to war amongst themselves. Once again the sava game takes a very interesting and unexpected turn that can lead to either deity winning.
The escape of the oozes of Ghaunadaur and their attack on the Promenade is not the only threat the singing magic of Eilistraee’s priestesses face. They find lies and deception from their most trusted high priestess. Can the love and power of a sister be enough to conquer the darkness of the Abyss?
Q’arlynd utilizes his newly formed school of sorcery to fight the crippling threat of the Faerzress. As in the previous two books, he struggles with his faith and pledge to his patron goddess. Q’arlynd will be forced to make a choice, and through his choice we finally learn which of the Melarn siblings will be the traitor to Eilistraee. As the two goddess fight for control, there is a mirrored struggle within the drow elves and surface elves. Also, within the ranks of the Eilistraee priestess and lay worshippers, there is a division in the Nightshadows too now under the Masked Lady’s new guise.
The Crescent Blade continues to seek out the neck of a goddess at the hands of the one who can wield the magical sword. Will Q’arlynd finally discover what happened to his sister Hallistra? Through her own madness will she prove that Lolth no longer has any hold on her, as the Lady Penitent declares herself a demigod?
The sava game can end in any way, in anyone’s favor. Through strategies of intelligent deception, brilliant trickery, and cunningly forcing the eye away from weakness in order to destroy the opponent’s most powerful piece, might be enough to guarantee victory, but not to end the game.
The escape of the oozes of Ghaunadaur and their attack on the Promenade is not the only threat the singing magic of Eilistraee’s priestesses face. They find lies and deception from their most trusted high priestess. Can the love and power of a sister be enough to conquer the darkness of the Abyss?
Q’arlynd utilizes his newly formed school of sorcery to fight the crippling threat of the Faerzress. As in the previous two books, he struggles with his faith and pledge to his patron goddess. Q’arlynd will be forced to make a choice, and through his choice we finally learn which of the Melarn siblings will be the traitor to Eilistraee. As the two goddess fight for control, there is a mirrored struggle within the drow elves and surface elves. Also, within the ranks of the Eilistraee priestess and lay worshippers, there is a division in the Nightshadows too now under the Masked Lady’s new guise.
The Crescent Blade continues to seek out the neck of a goddess at the hands of the one who can wield the magical sword. Will Q’arlynd finally discover what happened to his sister Hallistra? Through her own madness will she prove that Lolth no longer has any hold on her, as the Lady Penitent declares herself a demigod?
The sava game can end in any way, in anyone’s favor. Through strategies of intelligent deception, brilliant trickery, and cunningly forcing the eye away from weakness in order to destroy the opponent’s most powerful piece, might be enough to guarantee victory, but not to end the game.
January 8, 2017
I loved the first two books of the Lady Penitent series. Could not put them down for the life of me. This book however, I was more than happy to put down and shove into a darkened corner of my bookcase never again to see the light of day.
Don't get me wrong. The storyline appears to be well done in my mind, and I enjoyed the ending even though I was confused by it, the thing that got me was that everyone with any depth to them is dead in the end. This includes one of the Seven Sisters Quile, as well as the goddess Ellistraee herself!
I am not adverse to killing characters off. It sometimes adds to or advances the storyline. But the deaths of these two characters made no sense to me whatsoever, especially considering they are such prominent members of the rest of the world that this series is based in.
And the fact that again such a prominent location such as the base of Ellistraee's worship the Promenade was overrun did not win me over either.
Perhaps it is a bad sign that I crossed referenced the occurrences in this book with The Grand History of the Realms, a compendium that states pretty much every major and minor conflict within the Realms time line that helps to shape it. The death of Ellistraee and Quile are not mentioned in it at all during the year that the book was written, which seems very odd considering every other Realms book I have read coincides with the Histories.
All in all, I think Lisa Smedman rushed to get this book out to end the trilogy, took some historical liberties while she was at it, and the story has suffered for it. It seems slapped together in some places and missing crucial scenes in others. All in all not the most auspicious of endings to an otherwise wonderful trilogy.
Don't get me wrong. The storyline appears to be well done in my mind, and I enjoyed the ending even though I was confused by it, the thing that got me was that everyone with any depth to them is dead in the end. This includes one of the Seven Sisters Quile, as well as the goddess Ellistraee herself!
I am not adverse to killing characters off. It sometimes adds to or advances the storyline. But the deaths of these two characters made no sense to me whatsoever, especially considering they are such prominent members of the rest of the world that this series is based in.
And the fact that again such a prominent location such as the base of Ellistraee's worship the Promenade was overrun did not win me over either.
Perhaps it is a bad sign that I crossed referenced the occurrences in this book with The Grand History of the Realms, a compendium that states pretty much every major and minor conflict within the Realms time line that helps to shape it. The death of Ellistraee and Quile are not mentioned in it at all during the year that the book was written, which seems very odd considering every other Realms book I have read coincides with the Histories.
All in all, I think Lisa Smedman rushed to get this book out to end the trilogy, took some historical liberties while she was at it, and the story has suffered for it. It seems slapped together in some places and missing crucial scenes in others. All in all not the most auspicious of endings to an otherwise wonderful trilogy.
August 14, 2008
If smeg were to manifest itself as an ending to a book, this would certainly be it.
As an ending to a nine books series, you would expect something from the finale to this book. Anything from action packed to thought provoking to bewildering would have been exceptable. Instead we receive utter and total smeg.
To summarise the book itself, everything that was built upon in the first 8 books goes straight to hell, everyone you like dies for good (for good meaning there not just regular dead, they're super dead. Dead as in there souls were completely destroyed dead) except for one major character surviving in the last few pages.
Now even in turn this could have been a good ending in and of itself, but there deaths were all without meaning.
Then to add insult to injury, when the evil side is about to move in and claim victory, ANOTHER good guy who basically fucking hates the main characters group to the point he was planning on killing them all himself, steps in to defend them at the last second FOR NO FUCKING REASON OTHER THAN BECAUSE,and that's how it ends, just like that.
I swear Lisa Smedman must have rolled a D20 to determine the results of everything in this book.
As an ending to a nine books series, you would expect something from the finale to this book. Anything from action packed to thought provoking to bewildering would have been exceptable. Instead we receive utter and total smeg.
To summarise the book itself, everything that was built upon in the first 8 books goes straight to hell, everyone you like dies for good (for good meaning there not just regular dead, they're super dead. Dead as in there souls were completely destroyed dead) except for one major character surviving in the last few pages.
Now even in turn this could have been a good ending in and of itself, but there deaths were all without meaning.
Then to add insult to injury, when the evil side is about to move in and claim victory, ANOTHER good guy who basically fucking hates the main characters group to the point he was planning on killing them all himself, steps in to defend them at the last second FOR NO FUCKING REASON OTHER THAN BECAUSE,and that's how it ends, just like that.
I swear Lisa Smedman must have rolled a D20 to determine the results of everything in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2020
I really wanted to love this book. I've been a fan of Smedman's for a while now, and have generally enjoyed the books she's written. But Ascendancy of the Last just left me mostly confused throughout. I constantly felt like there were details that I must have missed, or stuff that I should have remembered from the prior volumes in this trilogy that had slipped my mind.
There's no character development to speak of, and little in the way of evocative description of anything. It really feels like the book just hit point after point on the outline from the publisher contract. It never breathes on its own.
Is there good here? Yes, despite all that I did sort of enjoy the novel. I like the world in which it's set, and I like the interplay of the various elements of the setting. I enjoy the lore and the communal world building that's inherent in the Forgotten Realms. And I'm glad to have gotten the end of the story (seeing as this is book 3 of a trilogy).
3 of 5 stars.
There's no character development to speak of, and little in the way of evocative description of anything. It really feels like the book just hit point after point on the outline from the publisher contract. It never breathes on its own.
Is there good here? Yes, despite all that I did sort of enjoy the novel. I like the world in which it's set, and I like the interplay of the various elements of the setting. I enjoy the lore and the communal world building that's inherent in the Forgotten Realms. And I'm glad to have gotten the end of the story (seeing as this is book 3 of a trilogy).
3 of 5 stars.
May 20, 2013
En general creo que esta trilogía no es de las mejores de Reino Olvidados. Me ha recordado bastante a la saga de la Guerra de la Reina Araña, tanto en calidad, como en formato. Si esa saga os gustó, leed esta, os gustará.
Es entretenida, indudablemente, y te hace pasar un buen rato, pero no es como los mejores libros de Reinos que no te dejan soltar el libro, hace que te encariñes con los personajes y te sorprenden siempre. Asimismo, introduce algunos cambios en los Reinos y en la raza drow muy interesantes y realmente sorprendentes que me muero de ganas de ver desarrollados, pero creo que era una idea que podría haberse narrado de otra forma que hubiera ganado más. Para los fanáticos de Reinos y de los drows, que quieran saber lo último que ha salido de ellos está bien, para el resto no la recomiendo demasiado.
Es entretenida, indudablemente, y te hace pasar un buen rato, pero no es como los mejores libros de Reinos que no te dejan soltar el libro, hace que te encariñes con los personajes y te sorprenden siempre. Asimismo, introduce algunos cambios en los Reinos y en la raza drow muy interesantes y realmente sorprendentes que me muero de ganas de ver desarrollados, pero creo que era una idea que podría haberse narrado de otra forma que hubiera ganado más. Para los fanáticos de Reinos y de los drows, que quieran saber lo último que ha salido de ellos está bien, para el resto no la recomiendo demasiado.
August 18, 2014
**NO SPOILER ALERT**
This book served a good ending and wraps up the series. It gives more insight on how the drow are shaped now with the surviving pantheons. Details on other drows living in different cities and communities helps expand the world the drow and the culture of how they co-exist with each other.
Lloth tried to play her usual dirty tricks, however Eilistraee is smarter. Many moving parts plots at one time but in the end it all made sense.
I do not feel to connected with the characters themselves, the only one that stuck to me is Q'arlynd Melarn, overall it was an enjoyable series.
This book served a good ending and wraps up the series. It gives more insight on how the drow are shaped now with the surviving pantheons. Details on other drows living in different cities and communities helps expand the world the drow and the culture of how they co-exist with each other.
Lloth tried to play her usual dirty tricks, however Eilistraee is smarter. Many moving parts plots at one time but in the end it all made sense.
I do not feel to connected with the characters themselves, the only one that stuck to me is Q'arlynd Melarn, overall it was an enjoyable series.
October 13, 2014
The was the last book of the Lady Penitent Series. I had so much hope for the series, and it had been "OK" to this point. But the last book was a disappointment. Without any spoilers, I felt some of the fates of the characters were written too quickly and in a fashion that wasn't worthy of the character. I've seen other review give similar assessments and these only helped solidify my own opinion. The only reason I gave this three stars was because it finished the series and brought everything to an end. The first two books were better and I did enjoy them, so the overall series was "good".
January 20, 2010
Lets just say that this book does not lend itself to extending the story. Pretty good series though. If you are into the genre and have read the sextet it builds on, definitely worth the read.
September 11, 2008
An interesting conclusion to the series, with some expected Realms-wide ramifications.
January 23, 2010
The book is definetly one that changes the settings of the Realms and of the Drow. I enjoyed it and has sparked my interest in the new novels in the Relams settings. Moving on to Empyrean Odyssey
May 5, 2013
yeah, I cried
September 13, 2013
Pretty neat series. Pretty neat indeed.
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