forgotten realms city of the spider queen pdf

Manipulation and power play is rife from the lowest guardsmen to the matriarchs of the noble houses. The city of Menzoberranzan is an entrancing yet deadly place with an intricate political and organisational system made all the more exciting by the bloodthirsty tendencies of the Drow. The world has a sense of life and solidity that is rare in fantasy and especially in so ambitious a setting. The imagery of stalactite castles where scheming noble families plot the downfall of each other hanging over vast caverns and lit by faerie fire is a captivating backdrop for the story. Dissolution brings to life the vivid world of the Underdark in all its complexity and cruelty. Salvatore, author of the famous Icewind Dale Trilogy and Dark Elf Trilogy. There is no black and white, all of the characters commit some vicious and evil deeds, yet in the dark world of the novel these things become part of the background in the face of the greater plot and the interactions between the characters.ĭissolution is part of a series written by different authors and overseen by R.A. When you read the books, it’s not about rooting for the right side, it’s about rooting for the characters you like.

Black-skinned creatures with the ability to see in the dark, they are capricious, ruthless and obsessed with power and their own ambitions. The dark elves, or Drow, are a fantasy race created by Gary Gygax for the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, which live underground in a vast collection of tunnels and caverns known as the Underdark. The protagonists were rich and well developed, with their own believable motivations and plots weaving together. This book and subsequent series showed me that characters don’t have to be “good” to be good. I watched a twisted fellowship of psychopathic dark elves bicker and backstab their way across the Underdark and beyond. Before I ever heard of Grimdark as a concept, before I ever learned of Martin’s host of murderous and self involved characters, before I watched Abercrombie’s Glokta hack up an innocent man, and before I saw Lawrence’s child killer with father issues slaughter a village – I read Dissolution and The War of the Spider Queen series.

Forgotten realms city of the spider queen pdf