City of Hawks (Greyhawk: Gord the Rogue, #3) in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Jul 24, 2017 Derek rated it did not like it

Shelves: tie-in, sword-and-sorcery, nostagia-fuel

Gygax finds the most weird and fascinating ways to make this book not good.

There is the whole story-arc scaffolding that surrounds Gord's life and sets him on a path towards being (view spoiler), including a whole pile of interplanar machinations and strategy. This all takes the form of Very Important Beings having Portentous Conversation and very vague indications about Gord's heritage and his role and other stuff having no ramifications Gygax finds the most weird and fascinating ways to make this book not good.

There is the whole story-arc scaffolding that surrounds Gord's life and sets him on a path towards being (view spoiler), including a whole pile of interplanar machinations and strategy. This all takes the form of Very Important Beings having Portentous Conversation and very vague indications about Gord's heritage and his role and other stuff having no ramifications for this book at all, but will eventually drown the series. It's dull and fiddly and vampire-sucks out the energy.

There are at least three conspicuous lacunae where events are referenced--the Guild War between the thieves and beggars, within the subterranean labyrinth of Greyhawk; the uncovering of the Middle Key; the fall of the Scarlet Brotherhood--but the story skips through it, picking up after the dust has settled. I sort of believe that the other novels, Saga of Old City and so forth, are intended to plug in there. But the referenced adventures sound so much more interesting than whatever is happening in-story that this reader was left feeling denied.

The author never uses structure to highlight or demarcate passed time. As in, the next chapter takes place years later. No warning, figure it out on your own. Gord is suddenly in Nyrond. In the most egregious example, the conclusion/epilogue (not labeled as such) places Gord in the Catlord's domain, with no explanation how he got there or what was going on. The previous paragraph may have hinted that it took place after Sea of Death and therefore this is immediately prior to Come Endless Darkness but the reader shouldn't be expected to just know this, and in fact makes the whole thing feel improperly structured.

And yet there are redeeming qualities when the author decides to focus. There is an early heist section where Gord is retrieving a treasure chest from some unknown subterranean aqueduct beneath the city. He has to research the problem, prepare, explore, battle, and extract. Much of this is very interesting, especially (paradoxically) when Gygax reverts to game-designer mode and details the city history and why all this infrastructure exists and how it works. It's clearly told, rather succinct, and interesting if you like that sort of thing. All of Gord's actual adventuring has a groundedness in practical details: how he determines a passageway is unused, how he locates a secret panel or activates it, how he carefully examines an object for hidden traps. You would think that the author has participated in something similar, possibly in a different context.

Likewise, under circumstances too stupid to explain, Gord finds himself in the Plane of Shadow, a place where the geography itself is wandering and which cycles between semi-light and total darkness with ramifications for all inhabitants. It's deliciously outré, but the author never puts wheels under it. Gord is there to kill some guy and take his stuff. ...more

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