Dissolution

Forgotten Realms: The War of the Spider Queen #1

by Richard Lee Byers

While their whole world is changing around them, four dark elves struggle against different enemies. Yet their paths will lead them all to the most terrifying discovery in the long history of the drow, and set them on a quest to save not only Menzoberranzan but the entire dark elf race from Dissolution.

The War of the Spider Queen begins here.

The first novel in an epic six-part series from the fertile imaginations of R.A. Salvatore and a select group of the newest, most exciting authors in the genre. Join them as they peel back the surface of the richest fantasy world ever created, to show the dark heart beneath.

Genres: Fantasy, Forgotten Realms, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Audiobook

372 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 7, 2002

About the author

A resident of the Tampa Bay area, Richard spends much of his leisure time fencing, playing poker, shooting pool and is a frequent guest at Florida science-fiction conventions. His current projects include new novels set in the Forgotten Realms universe and the eBook post-apocalyptic superhero series The Impostor.

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Legend of Drizzt as it should have been?

Comparable or no, it leaves a similar impression to the Underdark-focused early Drizzt books, equally centred on fractures in Drow society. The servants of the Spider Queen are mysteriously and suddenly losing their powers, slave races conspire for bloody revolution, and the ambitious minds of the depths below strive to exploit the changing circumstances.

Emphasising the scions of House Baenre, the ferocious and deceptive maneuvers of dark elf politics, and the underlying systems and machinations of the great deep metropolis of Menzoberranzan, Dissolution is an excellent beginning to a story of the most intriguingly vile of fantasy cultures. While it is far from a perfect book, it is one of those tie-in novels that almost make you forget they're tie-in novels.

I'm excited to see where it leads.

[Doppelganger · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having read and enjoyed much of R.A. Salvatores work based in the underdark, I went into this with knowledge of the setting and a strong opinion of how it should be represented. Overall, I think Byers did a good job and showed Menzoberranzan some justice. Although I generally prefer Salvatore's presentation of the Drow mindset and chaotic way of life, Byers definitely gave it a good run.

First off, I'd like to mention that Byers writing style, while strong and focused, is somewhat cerebral like. He tends to write more logically than artistically and uses very uncommon words that will leave you pondering the meaning. You'll only have context clues to go on, unless you have a dictionary handy. It isn't necessarily a bad writing style, its just different from what im used to in the Forgotten Realms setting. I would say its night and day from probably someone like Ed Greenwood's style.

I felt the book started off with a somewhat rocky and uncompelling flow that didn't really keep me turning pages. Fortunately that changed quick, as about 1/3 of the way in, Byers seemed to get warmed up with a much smoother overall feel. Soon enough I was drawn into the story and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I really did enjoy the typical Drow plotting and scheming and I think Byers did a good job of illustrating that. Pharaun Mizzrym is a great main character and I really like how he was written. I am eager to get on with the rest of the series and see just where this chaos leads next!

It is somewhat a shame that given the setting of Menzoberranzan with Bregan D'aerthe involved, we never hear mention of Jarlaxle. This might have something to do with character legalities, im not sure. Anyway though, I think this book is a strong start to the series and I would recommend it, especially to fans of the underdark and Salvatores world of Drow!

::I also wanted to mention I have met Byers and he is a really nice guy who offered to sign my hardcover copy. You can tell he really enjoys his work and we had a chance to talk about the story a little. If (somehow) he ends up seeing this review, thanks again and keep writing! You definitely have something to contribute to the fantasy/fiction community :) ::

[Heather Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say, other than I'm a -bit- of a drow fangirl, and to finally have the opportunity to read a series where a group of dark elves are, y'know... acting like drow, instead of centering on one goodie-two-shoes individual, made me squee with delight.
I loved the politicking and conniving done by, and general unpleasantness of, the characters in this whole series, to the point that I was more than willing to forgive a couple of plot holes and narrative errors, not to mention the sudden changes in select character traits when each new author picked up the series.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, OK, I'll give this 3.7 Stars!

Byers writes a more sophisticated Forgotten Realms book than I'm used to. His language and tone are a bit more complex, mature and academic than the norm, which may appeal to some fantasy fans critical of the sometimes childish writing of D&D books. This is by no means excellent writing; Byers could be negatively pegged by some as too clinical in style, he has a tendency to include too much detail of mundane scenes and objects, character arcs are generally tied up in convenient and cliché'd little packages, and he even sometimes lapses into some form of high English narration for reasons unknown. No, this is not excellent writing, but it is very good at getting the job done. Fights and battles are appropriately-detailed, tense and gripping, and Byers uses the fine technique of switching perspectives between opposing sides in the midst of them (eg around page 320), which acts like an adrenaline-infused psychological play-by-play. He also fills Dissolution with a solid cast of -- not exactly likeable -- but certainly interesting and involving characters, and he manages to flesh out Menzoberranzan and the Drow, building on the work of Salvatore and keeping the reader interested in this world of elaborate multiple-stage crossings, back-stabbings, plots and intrigue. Finally, I am particularly impressed with the range of spells, tactics and creatures Byers squeezes into Dissolution, intrigued by his cold treatment of the priestesses, and somewhat disappointed with the almost total lack of sexuality, other than the dark obvious.

Speaking of which, I really find Drow sexuality and its interplay with death, beauty and power fascinating. These creatures live life in extreme fashion -- they strive for ultimate power, beauty, luxury, control, and wealth -- they kill brutally and mercilessly, and they tend to die brutal, merciless deaths. Propelled by ambition, they strive for and reach such great heights and are such -- in a way -- sexy creatures, and then it is all snatched away in seconds, over and over and over again throughout their race's existence. They can live for centuries and yet die as easily as you or I, and when one of their number dies, they step on or over the still warm body without a hint of remorse or love (because most of them seem utterly-devoid of things like empathy).

And of course all this happens in large part because they worship an evil spider goddess of chaos.

Fascinating creatures in a way. In the way Byers writes them though, as seemingly abstinent little pragmatic conniving bastards, I find I get tired of them. Tired of the pointlessness of their lives, schemes, plots and counter-plots. From Dissolution it seems that their only enjoyed rewards are abstract honour of place over others, the thrill of slaughter, and an occasional massage. I'd like to see them written more-or-less like this, but with a good amount of sex and more overt sexuality and hedonistic pursuit, so as to entrap twisted readers like me and make us more likely to continue with this multiple (six!) volume series. As it stands, I can think of so many better ways to spend my time than read through this whole series, but I might do it anyway.

[Estevam (Impish Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The setting is interesting and very well explained that even those that are new to the forgotten realms will not feel lost in the Lore of this world, the author truly envelops in the culture of the drows especially their religion and how it affects their interpersonal relationships, talking about relationships the friendship displayed between Pharaun and Ryld is very well developed the author tells and shows enough for us know that they have lived through a lot together but doesn't go so in-depth that gets overbearing and he always respect the culture of the drow which again show how well-written this book is.
Overall this one was a pleasure to read and for sure i'll read the rest of the series so yeah 5-stars, go read it.

[Nenangs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I'm not a dark elf. :)
Is there any race on earth that resemble dark elf? I wonder...

[Carmen Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I found this book appealing for what Byers seems to be strongest at: character development. I'll admit that his writing style is actually some of my favorite from the Forgotten Realms series given the fact that he does try to challenge his readers with his writing. I don't mind that he chooses to use "larger words" or that his writing seems more highbrow for the typical run-of-the-mill Forgotten Realms series. I say this knowing myself, and knowing that some of Forgotten Realms novels really leave me wanting stylistically and I like to be challenged with my reading. The fact that he tries to find words more fitting than the common vernacular equivalents made me ecstatic. While his writing can get a bit clunky sometimes, as well as a bit lacking in artistic flourishes known for Forgotten Realms, overall it was a treat to read and I do not believe the things previously mentioned are really all that negative (beyond clunkiness). Truth be told, Byer's writing style is what often propels this novel forward although there are quite a few awkward moments worth noting.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

First of all, Byers, and I throw Salvatore in this as well, often uses awkward interjections for their characters. Yes, I understand this is done in all Forgotten Realms novels, but honestly--they don't get any better. "Fire and glare," "Mother of Lusts," "By the Demonweb" are quite unnecessary. They make serious, malicious characters such as Quentheal seem like stand-up comedians. Some characters, such as Pharaun, might actually benefit from some use of interjections such as these since he does have a very sarcastic, sometimes ridiculous (I love it though), sense of humor. But other characters seem utterly ruined by such usages and make their utterances seem glaringly out-of-character. There are some things in books that just shouldn't exist, or, for the D&D universe, exist in moderation--interjections of this kind are one of these things.

I understand this may be nit-picky but to me it was a glaring issue as it kept returning to haunt me throughout this book. It made my flow of reading displaced and disjointed. I often had to stop and re-imagine the tone of the characters and I shouldn't have to do that. When I have to take an extra minute to go, "Wait, how is he saying that in this context? Are they trying to be funny?" then that should be your first clue that something is wrong. Tone gets manhandled at points with these interjections and it made me die laughing ninety percent of the time. (I mean how can you not when a Drow, in all seriousness, yells, “By the Demonweb!” It gives me an “over-acting” type vibe.)

Also, I am not sure if this is just in my copy but there are too many typos. I mean, did their editors take a holiday? There was a time when a character said "than" when they should have said "that" which oddly makes the character seem illiterate when they clearly know the difference. Then there were times when periods were straight up missing which, to say the least, made for interesting sentence deciphering. Honestly, most of these typos could have been easily avoided with another go-round in the editing process.

Another instance, or instances, is that there was a moment when a Drow said, "a thousand thousand ways to kill someone" and I just wanted to toss the book across the room yelling, "What does that mean?" Do you mean two thousand? I have heard of "a thousand ways to kill someone" but really? It made me wonder if Byer's was trying to re-invent sayings or if this was another typo, in this case a double word. (I decided it was a typo but it didn't leave me feeling any better.)

These things happened too often for me to ignore them and to not mention them since everyone else seems to be leaving these out. They ranged from awkward sentence placement to strange versions of common sayings. Maybe I am being too nit-picky but it makes me wonder if this is something to be forgiven? I want to extend author’s grace, as well as editors, when a typo or two emerges but we don't forgive other books, even high-school and college writing, for the same types of mistakes--I don't think a Forgotten Realms novel should be an exception for any reason when it is this bad. Personally, I believe all types of books, no matter where one might “fit them” in the literary canon, should pursue excellent, well-crafted language. And while it does go awry at times for Byers, I believe in the big picture—he did a decent job.

CHARACTERS, STYLE, AND FLOW

This is what saves this novel, as I have previously mentioned. While there are no true likable characters, these are Drow after-all, there are characters that do have wonderful character development that still makes you care enough to see what happens to them. When a character is "evil" through and through it is convincing and yet still somewhat intriguing to see how they deal with their own malignant, hedonistic society. The pacing is well done. The beginning may be slow for some people but I found it quite all right. Although, I actually do not get bogged down by slow pacing either so take my words here with a grain of salt.

Characters such as Pharaun and Ryld are an enigma in that they are "friends" but what makes this intriguing is that with this "friendship" in a society that has no such thing reveals universal significance such as how people interact with each other when they have no incentive to be "nice." There is something wonderful in analyzing how these two characters view friendship in a world that doesn't see anything like that worthwhile. I do not think their friendship is how we, as humans, may define it but nonetheless, it was a great interaction to see that didn't feel forced or bizarre.

Other characters such as Quentheal and Gromph were great in the pure Drow fashion. I do not say I really like Quentheal, I have never liked High Priestesses, but she is a great Drow character. And when Gromph was sipping wine while waiting for Quentheal to die: that was a great, hilarious moment that made me love Gromph even more than before.

In the end, I'd say this book does great for its genre within Forgotten Realms but what I have read of the second book in this series--it doesn't last. (Different authors is the main factor for this.) I recommend this book whole-heartedly with a few notes on awkwardness to be mindful of but I would not recommend this series as a whole considering it just goes down the tank by book two and steadily declines.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for Byer's dark mystery that launches the War of the Spider Queen, with a few minor flaws easily overlooked for the captivating tale.

It's taken me 12 years to finally read this book. I had been hesitant for a while to read anything pertaining to Menzoberranzan that wasn't authored by Salvatore. But I figured since it has Salvatore's seal of approval I could give it a shot.

The story starts out with a bang - Gromph Baenre (the archmage of Sorcere, the most powerful male in drow society) summons a demon made of all eyeballs to do his bidding. It was a great opening and afterwards, Byers introduces us to a strong cast of characters - Quenthel Baenre (high priestess), Pharaun Mizzrym (a master of Sorcere), and Ryld Argith (weapons master of Melee-Magthere), which are all badasses in their own right.

There is a mystery that Pharaun and Ryld must solve that keeps the pages turning. Meanwhile Quenthel has problems of her own to deal with. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and might have given it 4 stars plus but for a few flaws.

My first complaint is how magic works in the Forgotten Realms setting. I once heard Salvatore in an interview saying something along the lines of "You want to have rules for your magic, so a wizard can't simply snap his fingers and get out of a predicament." Well unfortunately that is precisely what happens in this universe. There is a bit too much convenient magic in the FR universe, but I have learned to live with it as long as the authors keep up the good story-telling.

While Byers for the most part captured the evil madness and chaos of the drow society, there were a few minor things that irked me. For example, Pharaun referring to Ryld as his "friend." I didn't think drow had a word in their language for "friend." Also there were a few times where a drow said "give me your word of honor" to another drow. I also thought trust was non-existent in drow society, so what does a "word of honor" accomplish anyway? I am surprised Salvatore didn't edit this stuff out, but I suppose there had to be some "human" element to our characters to allow the reader to identify with them. We are reading a book on drow. We pick up this book to get away from all that stuff. I hope the future books in this series remedies that.

Despite the minor flaws, Byers did an excellent job and I am off to read Insurrection and perhaps some more of Byer's work down the line.

[Quintin Zimmermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I have previously stated, but worth mentioning again, this is what I define as "cereal fantasy" - mass-produced sugary fantasy, fortified with essential elements and heavily processed within a comprehensive, predefined rule set. Don't get me wrong, I love cereal just as much as when I was a kid. On occasion, I love to indulge my sweet tooth by returing to these wonderfully detailed, shared universes such as Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. The only thing about eating saccharine cereal as an adult is that there is such a thing as too much and rather having a hearty full English breakfast instead.

My enjoyment of the Underdark continues, particularly in Menzoberranzan, the City of Spiders, a large underground, matriarchal ruled city-state inhabited by the drow.

This series begins with the inexplicable Silence of Lolth, the Spider Queen of chaos, which robs her venerated female clerics of the ability to draw power directly from their goddess.

A not so clandestine battle for power erupts as various parties pursue their own selfish agendas to fill the power vacuum. What results is a lagging plot as a horde of unpleasant characters attempt to outwit each other, with innumerable skirmishes throughout that becomes rather repetitive.

Nevertheless, the transpiring actions will ineffaceably scar the Menzoberranzan landscape and I look forward to reading how it all plays out.

[Ruskoley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long book with a plotline that is tedious and pointless until way past halfway. Then the intrigue and characters start to matter and be interesting. The drow are fascinating and time spent in the Underdark can be wild, but this is functional writing - it's meant to open a sprawling complex epic that spans several novels...... And functional writing isn't always super fun. My favorite character was the Q priestess.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is kind of going to be a bit of a frenetic and shorter review, mainly because its been over a decade since I read this series. So any plot related mistakes will have to be taken with a grain of salt over the bigger quibbles. Also spoilers way down the line so be warned.

Anyway....

Let's set the scene. The drow are the dark elves of the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting, your regular pack of backstabbing bastards who somehow manage to eke out a living under a brutal matriarchal dictatorship thriving on the slave trade and demon worship. Their prime worship figure is Lolth, the aforementioned Spider Queen, AKA Queen of the Backstabbing Bastards and she's gone walkabouts without telling her devoted followers. Naturally what follows is a descent into civil war, backstabbing aplenty and a mystery plot that leads into the Demonweb Pits to play a rousing game of "Have you seen my God?"

Back when I was more invested in the straight up High Fantasy genre, I read my fair share of Forgotten Realms books like anyone else. And when I found the first book of War of the Spider Queen in my local library I snapped it up. I then plowed through all six books in a timely fashion, finished the last one and decided a couple of things then and there which have shaped my reading habits since.

1. Not a fan of series written by multiple authors. Part of the problem I found with this series in general was that everyone had their own story to tell. As a result there was little cohesive narrative to found here. Each writer devotes a good length of their books to different characters with characterization for others being a frantic chaotic mess. It also means that a lot of subplots are juggled around with some ending somewhat satisfactorily and others feeling like the writers just gave up and pulled the ending out of their arse. There are things like House Oblodra leading a civil war, Gromph Baenre contending with an Illithid and Hallistra Melarn defecting to the disciples of Ellistrae but they all felt like padding. For me Ryld's death was one of the biggest arsepulls, even though the big bugger had all the personality of a stone block with a stick up his obsidian arse.

2. Not a fan of the drow anymore. When I was young and dumb, the drow seemed like the coolest figures in the Forgotten Realms setting and I think a lot of us were like that. They were dark and edgy and carried sharp pointy things. But the War of the Spider Queen just kind of made them come across a one-note and boring. Like I mentioned earlier, Ryld the swordsman was particularly guilty of this. He's a one note figure whose defining characteristics are that he's no-nonsense and has a big sword called Splitter. The other drow in the story range from generic backstabbers to femme fatales to fantasy nazis and none of it made for interesting reading. Which brings me to.....

3. Not a fan of villain driven stories. Maybe this one is just me, but I really do prefer my protagonists to at least be morally grey. The problem with an all villain cast was that I didn't care about what was happening to them. The drow are all pricks (with the exception of one done-to-death ranger) who worship a demon goddess who rewards being a prick, so why should I care if their goddess goes bye-bye. I suspect it also came down to the multiple writers not knowing how to work with one another, but if anything it just exposed how little they understood how to write compelling evil characters. Of those I remember and liked, Pharaun and Hallistra were the best because they at least had personalities. Which brings me to the last issue....

4. An unsatisfactory ending. From what I remember, it goes like this. Upon reaching the Demonweb Pits, the protags find out that Lolth was basically in a cocoon of sorts, undergoing metamorphoses in order to ascend to a new power level ALA Dragonball Z. Of the three women in the party, one of them would become the body for Lloth's newest avatar. Surprise, surprise it's Danifae, the biggest backstabbing bitch of the group. She get's eaten and absorbed into Llolth's essence, becomes the new face of the goddess. Pharaun dies, eaten by spiders. Hallistra dies and is turned into Lolth's new personal guardian. Jeggred (a half-demon drow and son to the current ruling queen of the Drow City) is dead. And the only one left alive, Quenthel, is sent back to preach about Lolth's ascension.

Okay....

Now from a setting perspective I can understand this. It is totally in Lolth's nature to do this to her followers. The ultimate dick move for a goddess who values dick moves in order to promote supremacy. But from a reader's perspective, it felt like the time I invested in these books was pointless. All the fights, all the wars, all the drama, all the love lost etc. All for nothing. I could have accepted it, if maybe Pharaun had survived. He was to me, the best developed character. It would have given me some closure and satisfaction. But he ended up as spider food. So the only person at the end of this whole debacle would return to the drow city, whereupon nothing changes. Nothing advances or evolves. An entire shakeup of the system, only to return to the status quo.

Nah, sorry not buying it.

Forgotten Realms as a whole is something I still enjoy from time to time, even if it is rather cliched. But the drow do not interest me anymore. They work in small doses for me, mainly as actual villains or at least anti-heroes like Jarlaxle. But as full on protags, they just don't have the personality or depth to carry a series. These books aren't bad. They're decently written if padded up the arse. But the flaws in the myriad authors, the bloated subplots and lacklustre characters don't make for a good read into the Underdark.

Also, I just realised.....shorter review? Pbbthh! Apparently, I don't do short!

EDIT: I should add this here as I have read and enjoyed American Psycho. The difference between a villain protags like Bateman and the protags here is that Bateman is never meant to be sympathised with. The writer goes out of his way to show what a spoiled, vacuous shitstain he is. Often times the narrative almost mocks him, turning the story into a really dark satire. The characters here aside from Pharaun have no levity to them. They're generically cartoonishly evil.

[A Bookish ✧ Fable]

Really wanted to enjoy this series but I sadly can’t get through this writers way of describing the world and characters etc, It’s way to complicated and looses the readers attention easily. :/ I love Salvatore but man.. This author just didn’t do this book justice. DNF’ed 80 pages in.

[Artae the Silver Bookwyrm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Με κέρδισε από τη μέση και μετά που άρχισα να καταλαβαίνω καλύτερα ποιος χαρακτήρας είναι ποιος, αλλά από κει και πέρα μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ. Πολύ καλός και ο τρόπος γραφής.

Ωραίο χαρακτηριστικό επίσης ήταν πως ακόμα και σε έναν τόσο φανταστικό κόσμο, οι χαρακτήρες κάνανε «ανθρώπινα» λάθη και μάθαιναν (ή και όχι) από αυτά. Πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα πλοκή και με αναπάντεχες στροφές. Ανυπομονώ να ξεκινήσω το επόμενο.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
Pretty decent for a D&D book.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's always a risk with approaching a shared universe as detailed and somewhat esoteric as Dungeons and Dragons high fantasy. The risk is that the author will presume too much knowledge leaving the reader lost.

This first of six volume multi story arc about the evil subterranean dark elves "drow" and their pending civil war ALMOST falls into that trap.

The matriarchal drow are like Machiavelli on steroids. Everybody is backstabbing and angling for advantage. The high priestesses have lost their connection to their goddess and the magic that connection brings. This creates a crisis of power that, when coupled with the "disappearance" of several male drow, leads to growing tension that eventually boils over.

For the first 75 pages or so Byers introduces too many characters that are both ill defined and too specifically motivated. Since everybody acts like a bastard, there's no real protagonist and their motivations (since it's all internal politics, feel very inside baseball). He eventually drops some plot threads and things coalesce, but it takes a 1/3 of the book to get there.

Because this is D&D, there's fighting galore and while some scenes work well, othere don't develop organically and feel like filler. Overall, the book ended better than it began and I'm curious to see what happens in the next volume under a different author.

[Daniel McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book of a great series full of fun to read D&D action wheels within wheels intrigue, and likeablely confident, respectably competent, frighteningly ambitious, detestably evil, tragically flawed Dark Elven anti-heros. Possibly the best look at how the Drow work and work together that has been published. The second half of this series (yes the entire second half as I recall it) contains the best high level D&D spell dual I've ever read.

I mainly chose to write this review now years after reading this series to complain that TSR or Wizards of the Coast or who ever really needs to start publishing unabridged audio-books again. It has recently become one of my great pleasures to listen to a series like this, too long to reread ( I always have something to read for the first time instead), too complex to simply remember, too good to forget and too full of Drow names and D&D terms to just make myself a text aloud version of (I'd spend more time editing it to sound bearable then listening to it), while driving, working out, painting or doing almost anything else that doesn’t require my ears and all my attention.

Update: There is now an unabridged audio book version of every book in this series and was just as enjoyable the second time through.

[Gav451 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read a start of a book that was more 'D & D' than this. The first chapter was such a geek out for the world of DnD that I nearly put the book down. The level of assumed knowledge was huge and the names of the people and places were so unpronounceable that words cannot express the tough call it was settling into this book. Could Dave, or Jim or even Frank as opposed to Msdfughergnerj or some other such nonsense.

Because it was chaos based, and because characters felt so one note I was not sure I would get into the book. I did wonder if this would be a no finishing book. It did get better. I kept reading and eventually I started to get a feel for the world. Names started to fit in and, while initially impenetrable, there were some solid ideas at play in the book.

So in the end I quite got into the book. It wasn't amazing but it was good enough to keep me interested with moments of greatness. I liked the 2 central characters and their relationship and actually liked a twist that happened near to the end.

The world was quite good and I note there are more books in the series I have. I may return to see what happens. I alright, not too bad.......but boy is that beginning indigestible.

[Harvey Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about Drow. If you don't know, Drow are evil elves who live in the caverns beneath Faerun. It's a pretty standard fantasy romp, but what really picqued my interest was the way the authors would describe evil. The drow are inherently evil, so the main characters are terrible, terrible people, but their selfishness and sociopathy would manifest in utterly clever ways. Worth reading for that alone.

[Γιώργος Μπελαούρης · Rating 3 out of 5]

i bought it firstly cause the cover was from brom and secondly because a big contributer on the series was r a salvatore
the first one is amazing
i stoped at the thirf one, for some reason i lost interest
it follows the classic forgotten realms formula, if it is your thing then go ahead, personally i have read so much of the realms that i feel burned out

[Michael Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been long suggested to me. I put it off because I was sick of all the FR Drow tales. But this one is a little bit different. Their entire world is shaken and though there are no real heroes there are people who care about their homeland. I can't wait to read the next book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate every single character, but they are all trying to kill each other and it's fun to watch.

The main theme of this series appears to be class consciousness, with the catalyst of the conflict being a bunch of Men's Rights Activists (derogatory).

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that got me into Forgotten Realms

[Frank Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm hooked on dark elves.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

What are the odds that I would enjoy two books titled "Dissolution" in a lifetime?

As Sansom deftly made us care about his hunchbacked lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, Byers also succeeds in creating engaging characters with depth. The result is a tale of the Drow, that may well be the best treatment of them I've yet read. And I don't like Drow, but like Cunningham before him, Byers gives us a realistic portrayal of a people who aren't simply comic book "evil." They make choices, they have relationships, and they suffer from their very natures. In short, they're very human.

If I had to find fault, I was struck by the "gang" of protagonists being a bit too immortal. Yes, the main characters need to survive the book, but they don't need to survive against _so_ much without lasting scars. When it gets to the point that you know nothing will harm them, it's gone too far. I'd dock this title half a star if the system allowed. But it doesn't and this is too much of a page turner, too engaging of a read to demote to a four star rating over such a foible.

I will look for more title by Byers. I sincerely hope the next author in this series handles "the gang" as deftly as he did here. They deserve it.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

New spiders and crow to watch and grow New threats.

This is a great start for a new generation of Drow and spider Queens. I look forward to ring the whole set of stories.

[Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have any clever words right now but it was a fun ride.

[Oli Kochana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally💀💀

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

anything with the underdark and dark elves is going to be good to me.

Well written, but overwritten at times. I'm intrigued that this series has a different author for each book.

[Sotiris Kosmas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid start to what is a 6-part saga with an intriguing premise. The story is fast paced and the Drow society is better illustrated than in the Drizzt books ( although it helps to have read that first)

[Soreli · Rating 4 out of 5]

ერთი რამ, რაც შემიძლია დაზუსტებით ვთქვა ამ სამყაროზე, ის არის, რომ კითხვის პროცესში რამდენიმე ადგილას ლამის ტირილამდე მიმიყვანა მენზობერაზანის, ბნელი ელფების ქალაქის, უბრალოდ აღწერამაც კი. ქალაქის ერთ ნაწილში ობობის ფორმის ტაძარიაო, სადაც ლლოსის ქურუმები ცხოვრობენ, მეორე ნაწილში - ბნელი, გიგნატური ზომის კოშკიო, მაგიკა, ჯადოქრების აკადემია. ქალაქის ცენტში ბენრის ყორღანი, უზარმაზარი, იისფერი, ლურჯი, და მწვანე ნისლით გარშემორტყმული ციხე-სიმაგრე, ადგილობრივი მოდის ვერსალი. ღრმად მიწისქვეშეთში, ანტკური, უძელესი გამოქვაბულის კილომეტრებზე გადაჭიმულ დარბაზში წამოჭიმული ქვისგან, სტალაქტიდებისა და სტალაგმიტებისგან გამოთლილი ქალაქი, სადაც ქუჩების თაღებზე, ხიდებზე და კეთილშობილთა სახლებზე ობობების, გარგულიების და მაგიური აბლაბუდების ორნამენტები, რელიეფები და ბარელიეფებია გაბნეული. იისფერი სოკოები უფსკრულების კიდეებზე გადმოკიდებულან ლამაზად, შხამიანად. კიდევ უფრო ღრმად თუ ჩაიხედავ, მიკროსკუპულ დონეზე გაუყვები მენზობერაზანის მილიარდობით ელექტრონის ქაოსურ მოძრაობას, დაინახავ, რომ სხვა მენზობერაზანიც არსებობს. ელექტრონები მაგიურ სიმებს მიუყვებიან და მოგზაურობენ პარალელურ სამყაროში, სადაც ბნელი ელფების ქალღმერთი, ლლოსი, ლამის კოსმიური მასშტაბის ობობის სახით დემონურ აბლაბუდაზე დასეირნობს და უცაბედად, თუ თვალი თვალში გაუსწორე, შავ ხვრელში ჩაგაგდებს, მოვლენების ჰორიზონტზში მოგიმწყვდევს, უდროო და უსივრცო სინგულარობაში გამოგკეტავს და ითამაშებს შენით. შენი შეცნობით სიამოვნებას მიიღებს. ღმერთები ხომ ცნობისმოყვარე ფსიქოპათები არიან.


ამასთან, თვითონ მენზობერაზანიც თავისებური ანტი-სამყაროა, რომელიც იმდენად გავს მზისქვეშა, ადამიანების, სამყაროს, რამდენადაც გაუმჟღავნებელი ფოტონეგატივი გავს დაბეჭდილ ფოტოსურათს. შავი თეთრია, თეთრი - შავი. სიკეთე და სიქველე პატივმოყვარეობაში და სისასტიკეშია, სისუსტე და ბოროტება - სიყვარულსა და პატიებაში, პატრიარქატი მატრიარქატითაა ჩანაცვლებული და რევოლუციური, პარტიზანული მოძრაობაც კი, რომელსაც, როგორც წესი, მიწისიქვეშა, სარდაფულ მოძრაობას უწოდებენ ადამიანები, აქ, "მიწისზედა" მოძრაობაა იმდენად, რამდენდაც თავიანთ შტაბად ქალაქის თავზე გამოკიდებული მიტოვებული, მტვრიანი სასახლე-სხვენი აქვთ არჩეული :დ ასე რომ, ადამიანურთან მიმართებაში დროუს სამყარო, ასევე მეტა-სამყარო, რელიგიური და მორალური ღირებულებები ყოველთვის რივერსულია. არაადამიანურია. უცხოა. და ჰმ, სწორედ ესაა ყველაზე მომხიბვლელი.


ამასწინათ, მეგობარი მეკითხებოდა, რატომო, რატომ გიყვართო ფენტეზი ასე ძალიანო? ამ კითხვაზე დაახლოებით იმდენი პასუხი არსებობს, რამდენ წელსაც ცოცხლობს საშუალოსტატისტიკური, თითქმის უკვდავი დროუ. მაგრამ ერთ-ერთი პასუხი ნამდვილადაა ის, რომ ფენტეზი ყველაზე საინტერესო, გრანდიოზული და ფერადი სივრცეა ისტორიაზე ექსპერიმენტების ჩატარებისთის. I mean, ტრადიციული, კონსერვატიული კულტურების ჩარჩოში არსებობს მხოლოდ უნივერსალური ღირებულებები, რომელთა ვარგისიანობის ვადა მარადისობაა. საზოგადოებისგან, წმინდა ძროხებისგან მოშორებული, საკუთარ მარტოობაში და მოწყენილობაში გამოკეტილი ერთი ადამიანი კი, რომელსაც შესაძლოა, ხელში რძიანი ყავა უჭირავს და საქანელა სავარძელზე
ქანაობს უკნასკნელი ნევრასთენიკივით, ფიქრობს, ეჭვები ეხვევიან გარს ფსიქოდელიური ქინქლებივით, ზუზუნებენ და წუწუნებენ, და მიყავთ აზრამდე, რომ man,fuck this shit, მარადიოსობა მხოლოდ პერსპექტივაში არსებობს. საკმარისია, ერთი სანტიმეტრით გადაინცვლო სივრცეში, ხედვის კუთხე შეცვალო, და, ცა და მიწა, სწორი და არასწორი, ადგილებს შეიცვლის. ფორმები, ფერები და იდეები ყოველთვის ცვლიან ერთმანეთს, თვითნებურ ექსპერიმენტებს ატარებენ, ქმნიან ისტორიას, და ძირს უთხრიან მარადისობას. ფენტეზის ავტორის კი აქვს შანსი, რომ თავად გახდეს ექსპერიმენტატორი, დააჩქაროს, ან შეანელოს მოვლენები, უტრირება გაუკეთოს, ან გაამარტივოს. ფენტეზი ცვლის პერსპექტივას, განსხვავებულს, მარგინალურად მიჩნეულს მეინსტრიმულის სტატუსს ანიჭებს, და პირიქით. ამით კი ცხადს ხდის, იმას, რომ, აჰა, შესაძლოა, ჩვენ ყველანი ზომბები ვართ, შესაძლოა, კოვზი არ არსებობს, და ეს ერთდროულად არის ყველაზე შემაძრწუნებელი, საშინელი და მშვენიერი რამ სამყაროში.

მოკლედ, მენზობერანზანის მითოლოგია უნაკლოდ ლამაზია, მთავარი გმირები კი უნაკლო ნაძირალები არიან. იმდენად სასტიკები და დაუნდობლები, რომ ჯორჯ მარტინს მომინდა დავბრუნებოდი, იქ მეტი ხომ მეტი სიკეთე და ადამიანური სითბოა :ო და მაინც, ერთი სული მაქვს, ახალ ნაწილს როდის დავიწყებ. მთავარ გმირები ახალ ელფურ ქალაქში იმოგზაურებენ, ჩედ ნასადში, და იმედი მაქვს, რომ ნელ-ნელა ძალის ნათელ მხარესაც გადმოვლენ :დ ისე, უბრალოდ, მრავალფეროვნებისთვის.