Realms of the Underdark

Rating:
Summary: Bite sized stories for you to savor.
Review: "Realms of the Underdark" is one of the "Realms" series of short story anthologies. This volume deals exclusively with the Underdark, the subterranean world of amongst things dark elves, Dwarfs and a unique ecology. The Underdark has been made famous by R.A. Salvatore's the hugely popular Dark elf series. Although R.A Salvatore doesn't actually contribute any stories in this anthology some of his characters do make appearances in several stories. Fans of R.A. Salvatore will enjoy this anthology since it fills in a lot of background details about the Underdark and how dangerous it really is. Fans might also notice the differing writing styles between R.A. Salvatore and the other authors but that shouldn't detract too much from the book. After finishing the book it leaves you wanting more... but in a good way.

Rating:
Summary: Bite sized stories for you to savor.
Review: "Realms of the Underdark" is one of the "Realms" series of short story anthologies. This volume deals exclusively with the Underdark, the subterranean world of amongst things dark elves, Dwarfs and a unique ecology. The Underdark has been made famous by R.A. Salvatore's the hugely popular Dark elf series. Although R.A Salvatore doesn't actually contribute any stories in this anthology some of his characters do make appearances in several stories. Fans of R.A. Salvatore will enjoy this anthology since it fills in a lot of background details about the Underdark and how dangerous it really is. Fans might also notice the differing writing styles between R.A. Salvatore and the other authors but that shouldn't detract too much from the book. After finishing the book it leaves you wanting more... but in a good way.

Rating:
Summary: Three Stars for three good stories.
Review: I gave this book three stars, one for each good story in here. If you did not get enough of the Underdark from Salvatore's fantastic drow series, then this book is worth it for the three quality stories within. Though none of the stories are of the quality of Salvatories writings about the underdark, three out of five stories in here add nicely to the myth of the Underdark. The Liriel Baenre story is the best of them and even features a brief appearance by my favorite drow Jarlaxle. There is an excellent story about a deep gnome who was captured as a drow slave. And then there is the so-so Zaknefin story, which includes some more back story on Drizzt, and while this story is no where near the quality of Salvatories writing, it does provide some interesting insight into both Zaknefin and Drizzt. As for the other two stories in here, forget about them, I already did.

Rating:
Summary: Three Stars for three good stories.
Review: I gave this book three stars, one for each good story in here. If you did not get enough of the Underdark from Salvatore's fantastic drow series, then this book is worth it for the three quality stories within. Though none of the stories are of the quality of Salvatories writings about the underdark, three out of five stories in here add nicely to the myth of the Underdark. The Liriel Baenre story is the best of them and even features a brief appearance by my favorite drow Jarlaxle. There is an excellent story about a deep gnome who was captured as a drow slave. And then there is the so-so Zaknefin story, which includes some more back story on Drizzt, and while this story is no where near the quality of Salvatories writing, it does provide some interesting insight into both Zaknefin and Drizzt. As for the other two stories in here, forget about them, I already did.

Rating:
Summary: You can almost hear the authors rolling the dice.
Review: It's not that Realms of the Underdark is necessarily *bad*. Around the time that this stories were written, Drow elves (the evil dark-skinned elves that live deep underground and worship the dark spider-goddess Lloth) were all the rage in Forgotten Realms books. They must still be popular, as I never fail to see a new Drow book out there. It's only natural that TSR (before Wizards of the Coast bought them) would want to take advantage of such cool creatures. Drizzt Do'Urden was the coolest of the cool, an exiled Drow who is actually a hero. Of course, he features in one of the Realms of the Underdark novellas. Surprisingly he isn't really the star of it, but it does explain something of his past.

The problem is that there just isn't really anything exciting or original about any of the stories. Of the stories, one is very good, one is pretty bad, and the rest range from "bland" to "pretty good."

Getting the poor story out of the way first is "A Slow Day in Skullport," by Ed Greenwood. Greenwood is one of the masters of the Forgotten Realms setting, and he is determined to show it. Unfortunately, it's one of the more by-the-numbers entries in the book (and that's saying something!). Three of the Lords of Waterdeep, former adventurers who have retired to positions of wealth and power in the big city, find themselves on yet another adventure. Durnan, owner of the Yawning Portal and master of the entrance from Waterdeep into the Underdark, receives an image of a young noble girl in trouble, and is determined to rescue her. He sends a message to his friend, Mirt the Moneylender, who then alerts his friend Asper of the potential danger. He suspects a trap. Sure enough, it is, as Durnan is attacked by a Beholder, a floating creature with a huge eye in the center and a bunch of eyestalks, all of them able to shoot bolts of energy and other magical attacks. Durnan is the object of the Beholder's plan, and his friends have to come to his rescue. I'm not sure I can really say how bad this story is. I could almost hear the dice rolling during the battle scenes and there's no flow to them whatsoever. Greenwood also can't resist inserting Elminster into the story. Elminster is the greatest mage in the Realms and the character that Greenwood played when the Realms was a gaming world. He's in there for no apparent reason. Either that, or the story will be continued elsewhere, as other seemingly unrelated events happen as well. If true, that's a real minus for this story. What's even funnier is the sequence where Mirt is constantly attacked by various creatures of the Underdark and just swats everything away without raising a sweat. These characters don't feel like they're in any danger whatsoever, even when things start looking bleak at the end. Why should I care about these people? Ultimately, I didn't, and struggled to get through the story. Seemingly invincible characters are dull to read about. Next!

The final story, "Volo Does Menzo," is a wonderful conclusion written by Brian M. Thomsen. Percival Woodehous (or Pig, as he's known in Skullport) is a down-on-his-luck maitre'd who was the best in Waterdeep before being disgraced and forced to find what work he can in sinister Skullport. Volo, the infamous travel guide writer, was the cause of his distress, and Pig is surprised when he finds Volo in a tavern that Pig frequents. Determined to talk to him, he gets mixed up in an attack on Volo by two bumbling Drow disgraced warriors. It is said that Volo intends to write a guide to the Drow home city, Menzoberranzan, and they can't have that. Does Volo have something else up his sleeve? Or will both of them be put to death for the warriors' cleansed honour? This is a delightfully funny tale with the characterization of Volo being perfect. He loves the sound of his own voice and regales both tavern customers and his guards with tales of his travels all over the Realm. He's also devious, as his ultimate plan demonstrates. He has a terrific memory, as he ultimately does remember what happened to Percival (though it would have been nice if he had explained exactly what happened). Percival is also well done as the master chef, out of his element in a situation not of his making. I found the two bumbling Drow hard to get used to at first, because we've never seen one before. They are usually brutally efficient. However, their characterization grew on me, though Thomsen does go a little too far with their denseness. Still, the situations are hilarious, especially the confrontation with the two fish creatures, the Kuo-toa, that Volo and Percival witness when they're supposed to be asleep.

With one great story ("Volo Does Menzo), one good story ("Rites of Blood," by Elaine Cunningham), and three iffy ones ("Sea of Ghosts," by Roger E. Moore, "The Fires of Narbondel," by Mark Anthony, and "A Slow Day in Skullport"), this collection ultimately isn't that good. If you're a fan of the Forgotten Realms, you may enjoy these novellas. Otherwise, you should probably stay away.

David Roy

Rating:
Summary: Good, but could be better.
Review: The Underdark -- a lightless world of fearsome monsters and evils too horrible to exist anywhere else. This is the world of the drow, one of the most evil and malicious races to taint the Material Plane; the svirfneblin, little deep gnomes who avoid the drow at all costs; and other denizens, most too unspeakably vile to name. But all these creatures are but pawns in the hands of greater powers: authors. Authors like Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, and Mark Anthony, among others. This book gives you a sample of what the Underdark has to offer and also whets your appetite for longer works the authors have written. Its only drawbacks are that the plots get kind of oppressive after awhile (the Underdark'll do that to you) and the fact that Mark Anthony didn't do justice to RA Salvatore's characters. Other than that, the book is definitely worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad.
Review: Well.The book isn't bad. I've enjoyed reading most of the stories.But That's the bad part. They left you wanting more :)_ The stories are great, and, if you don't mind reading just short stories, buy it. I enjoyed the Liriel's story (Elaine Cunningham) the most of all.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad.
Review: Well.The book isn't bad. I've enjoyed reading most of the stories.But That's the bad part. They left you wanting more :)_ The stories are great, and, if you don't mind reading just short stories, buy it. I enjoyed the Liriel's story (Elaine Cunningham) the most of all.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: While I thoroughly enjoyed the Drow stories, I was quite disappointed that there were only two (if not two, then only three), which was the reason I bought the book. Disappointed as I was, I still read the rest of the book for the heck of it and discovered that the only stories that were worth my time and money were the Drow ones. They're pretty good. One of them was about young Drizzt and Zaknafein (mostly about Zaknafein). The other one was about Liriel. Anyway...If you just want to read the GOOD stories, just read them in the store. Don't waste your money.