Obsidian Ridge (Forgotten Realms: The Citadels, Bk. 2)
by Jess Lebow
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jess LebowEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN: 0786947853
Number of pages: 320
Model: 21628
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Book Reviews of Obsidian Ridge (Forgotten Realms: The Citadels, Bk. 2)
Book Review: A solid additon to the citadels series
Summary: 4 Stars
Obsidian Ridge by Jess Lebow is the second novel in a series of stand alone novels called the Citadels. The other novels in the Citadels series are; Neversfall: The Citadels by Ed Gentry, and the soon to be released The Shield of Weeping Ghosts: The Citadels by James Davis (May, 2008) and Sentinelspire (The Citadels) by Mark Sehestedt (July, 2008). These novels are much like the other series of stand alone novels that have been previously released, such as the Rogues, the Clerics, the Wizards, and the Fighters. Incidentally, Mr. Lebow also had a novel in the Fighters series; Master of Chains (The Fighters).
The plot of this book is multi-layered and nothing like I thought it would be. The main plot line is rather simplistic, a floating citadel appears one day over a city and the wizard in control of the citadel makes a demand on the king and gives him four days to follow through on those demands. However, there is a myriad of sub plots crammed into the pages of this book as well. Sub plots such as the identity of two mysterious figures, the Claw and the Matron. The Matron's identity was done really well; Mr. Lebow teases the reader with a hint to the true identity and then snatches it away. There is a political sub plot as well between a group who is selling illegal drugs and wanting to gain control of the throne, and the king's own who are seeking to stop the sale of the drugs. There are a couple more sub plots, and plot twists but I will hold off talking about those because I don't want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say, that the plot and layout of this book is very good. It follows a logical time frame and pacing is well done. There is very little `down' time in this novel at all.
The characters in this book are what you may expect to find in a plot such as this. There is the evil crazed wizard Xeries, there is the noble king Korox, the king's body guard Quinn, the king's beautiful daughter Mariko, and the mysterious underground lord the Matron. The characters, and to a lesser extent, some of their actions are at times clichés. However, they are packaged in such a way that it doesn't cause the reader to think `been there done that'. I found the characters to be engaging and interesting. All the characters were interesting, some obviously more so than others, but the one thing that seemed to really be lacking was character development. By and large the way the characters are at the start of the novel are how they end the novel. With how solid the plot is, I was expecting a little more in this area. Other than that, the characters were fun to read about.
I do have a couple of minor criticisms about this novel.
1 - As I mentioned above, for the quality of the plot the lack of character development was kind of surprising and a little disappointing. In only three hundred pages I am not expecting complete character transformations, but I would have liked to have seen some growth in a few of the characters.
2 - Some of the dialogue, at times, seemed rather forced. The best way I can describe it is that there are certain parts of the story where a character talks and the words don't mesh with how the character has acted/talked previously in the novel. It's a minor thing, but one that I noticed and it was a little confusing.
Some of the things I enjoyed with this novel.
1 _ I would be remiss if I did not talk about Mr. Lebow's prose and pacing. They are top notch. The story flows very smoothly, but at a pace that dares the reader to put the book down. I felt the same way when I read Master of Chains as well. When you find a book that has pacing this well it's a joy and a disappoint at the same time. A joy because you get captured by the story and fly through the pages. A disappointment because you suddenly realize that at the pace it's going it will soon be over. That's how this book was for me.
2 - The solid plot. Not only the main plot line, but how each of the sub plots were woven into the larger story. It made the novel both engaging, but more real as well.
3 - The descriptions in the book. I have used this example before, but it certainly applies here as well. Mr. Lebow gives the reader just enough information to show the reader his vision, but also not enough to where it stymies the reader's imagination. He allows the reader to fill in the little gaps on a larger canvas. I can't say enough how much I appreciate that.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. It is an excellent addition to the Citadels series and to the Forgotten Realms lore as a whole. Fans of the Forgotten Realms will no doubt want to pick this novel up at their earliest convenience. People looking to get their feet wet in the fantasy genre may also want to consider checking this novel out; it is a good measuring stick for forgotten Realms novels and a decent fantasy novel. I can easily see myself recommending this novel to many people and I am eagerly looking forward to another novel with Mr. Lebow's name of the cover.
Summary of Obsidian Ridge (Forgotten Realms: The Citadels, Bk. 2)
This time the castle is the monster!Obsidian Ridge hasn't been seen in Faerun for hundreds of years. It's a legend, a fairy story--until it appears, silently and without warning over the kingdom of Erlkazar, blotting out the sun. Steered by the madness of a cunning wizard, the citadel and its vast array of shadowy monsters will destroy all of Erlkazar unless the wizard gets what he wants: the princess of Erlkazar as a bride. But he'll have to battle the king's personal assassin, a loyal courtier, a complicated killer, and the princess herself to bring his plan to bear.
Obsidian Ridge continues the Citadels series with another story that explores the darker side of that iconic fantasy structure, the castle. Each book in the Citadels series is a self-contained fantasy in the Forgotten Realms world and can be read in any order.
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