Not Exactly the Three Musketeers

Rating:
Summary: Half-hearted at best
Review: I keep hoping the Guardians of the Flame series will improve, but after the first two, it was all down hill. The author has a habit of reusing favorite phrases and descriptions. Particularly disgusting is the frequently mentioned "loosing of the bowels with a horrible flatulence" upon someone's death. Although many of the other stories in the series follow an interesting idea (modern-day folks transported into a wizards-and-warriors world), this story fails to have anything interesting to explore. He keeps you in the dark about the 'real' part of the plot until at least page 288, and even then it's over so quickly that I almost missed it. This book doesn't really have anything to recommend it; it has poor writing, poor character development, and a poor plot. I'd take Terry Brooks over this any day.

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Companion to the "Guardians of the Flame" Series
Review: I really enjoyed this book.This is more of a companion story with less about our first group of heroes than to the previous 6 books in the series .Joel really lets us see the world through the soldiers eyes instead of the gallant heroes in the earlier Guardians of the Flame novels..There is plenty of action and a truly unique comraderie with these 3 guys..They get into trouble,get out of it,and right back in..By the time you get halfway through this book you'll love these misfits.I found myself laughing while reading this book & at some points wanting to cry..Never a dull moment & a must read for any Rosenberg fan,Guardians of the Flame fan,or fantasy lover...

Rating:
Summary: WWW: Well Worth the Wait
Review: I skipped work to gobble this one upyesterday and then reread it today.

Rosenberg keeps surprising me with the Guardians of the Flame series. The first books were well-done swashbuckling [sp?] fantasy series, with well-above-average characters, the best damn fight scenes in modern fantasy, and a quirky bloodymindedness that kept me wondering if Karl Cullinane could still be alive.

Then the second series, the two Walter Slovotsky books, turned things inside out and made it all close and personal.

Now, with the (eighth?) latest book in the series, Rosenberg seems to be reinventing heroic fantasy with almost casual ease.

No, they're not exactly the three musketeers. If you want a Dumas pastiche, read Steve Brust's Parfi (sp?) books.

This one is something else, as though Rosenberg is trying to reinvent what Dumas and ERBurroughs and Sabatini were getting at in their time.

My only question for "Jayar" (I caught the cameo appearance by Rosenberg in his own book -- very sneaky, Mr. R!) is:

When's the next one?

Rating:
Summary: Rather sad what has happened to this series
Review: I truly loved the first three Guardians of the Flame novels, which is why it was so sad reading this book. This new book starts off slow, continues on at a plodding pace until the last 80 pages, and just when it starts to get good, it's all over. The characterization is wonderfull, as always. Joel Rosenberg is a master of that. Unfortunately, the plot has fallen by the wayside. A description of many tiny misadventures that befall the heroes seems to be a substitute for a plot: you hear all about their trip in excruciating detail. You keep waiting for the plot to advance, and it hardly budges until the very end. The first three Guardians of the Flame books were great, but this one has the feel of 'a day in the life of three soldiers loyal to Barony Cullinane' rather than offering a fast paced and interesting plot that initially made this series so enjoyable. I would give it one star, but since the characterization is of the same high quality I expect from Rosenburg, I give it two.

Rating:
Summary: Dumas should have had it so good
Review: I'm not sure I buy the notion that Rosenberg's three heroes are intended to reprise Dumas' -- Durine and Pirojil could maybe both lay claim to being Porthos, while Kethol is much more D'Artagnan than Aramis, but none of them parallel terribly well -- but that's more than okay.

What I absolutely love about this one is the interplay between the three characters, much moreso than in the Dumas books. Their three-way partnership, while rarely overtly discussed in the book, is the heart of the story.

It sort of reminded me of a really, really good buddy movie, except that there isn't just one pair of buddies, but three, and half the fun is watching them not quite get along.

A terrific book.

Rating:
Summary: Great Addition to a Superb series!!!
Review: Joel Rosenberg returns to my favorite ongoing fantasy world with "Not Exactly the Three Musketeers" It is both a departure and a return for the author. The departure is that the characters that we have read about for seven previous novels are background material in this novel. Previous backround characters are now the focus.

The return is in that the authors incredible flair for heroic fantasy is back. His descriptions of battle and the warriors that fight in it are exemplary. He shows the motivations behind all these "heroes", and that is what truly makes this, and all the Guardians books, wonderfull.

I was a bit disappointed not seeing Ahira, Ricetti or Andrea at all. Walters role, while prevalent was smaller than we have come to expect. None of the lingering questions from previous books were addressed in this novel.

I for one look forward to the next addition to this series. Anyone that wants to chat, comment or speculate with me on the series, please mail to [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Very Very Good!
Review: Joel, Definitely on par with the rest of the books in the series. How long will you make us wait until the next release?

Rating:
Summary: Sorry, Joel...
Review: Not a bad read in a generic-Glen-Cookish manner.

Not the best that i've read from Joel Rosenberg, but it served to fill the time.

There are better books, even better books in this very series, but if you've read those, you probably need to read this one too, and it certainly won't hurt you to do so.

Now if he'd just do another "D'Shai" or "Guardians" book, too...

Rating:
Summary: A fantasticaly constructed maze with a surprising end.
Review: Once again Mr. Rosenberg has constructed a fantastic story. Ever since reading his first novel some 12 years ago, I have gone to bookstores with the hopes of a newer tale. And on those rare days when a new book lay gleaming on the shelves, I always cloistered myself into a comfortable chair until the cover was closed.

This teaser to another installment of the Guardians series is nothing less than perhaps his finest work to date. As a co-creator and writer of a fantasy gaming system myself, the plot elements, characterizations, and over-all pace is perfection on paper.

As a final credit to Mr. Rosenberg, I would like to thank him personally for carrying on the fine work and tradition of both his and my "mentor", the immortal Robert A. Heinlein. It was almost comical to see your dedication to him in your first novel. There are strong parallels between your writing styles and I'm sure that wherever he is now, he laughs at Walter too. Thanks for your stories and inspiration.

Rating:
Summary: Decently written, but grey in nature
Review: The writing style and content are not particularly brilliant, but were captivating enough to keep me turning pages against my better judgment.

The enormous difference between this and his previous works caused me to wonder if some great calamity had darkened the author's outlook on life.

Unlike his previous works, this novel was permeated by a sort of emotional hollowness, or perhaps cynicism. It almost seemed that he went out of his way to prove that there's no such thing as wrong or right, and that life is ugly and short. I guess if his whole intention was to illustrate how much unlike heroes these three 'heroes' are, Joel Rosenberg succeeded stunningly, but it was a morally grey, depressing, passionless read. Even the 'happy' ending left a bitter taste in my mouth.