Rating: 
Summary: Incredible Story...not so incredible author
Review: War of the Spider Queen is still one of the best STORIES I've ever read. But the last two books...
As with Condemnation, the writing in Extintion was mediocre. I really expected a lot more from the writers in this series (though the first two were great).
The chapters started to drag on in a lot of places and I often found myself saying 'just get on with it' (especially with Hallistra and Ryld).
Also, if you thought the action in Condemnation lacked depth, this one will aggrivate the (don't want to cuss) out of you! It suffered heavily from the "show don't tell" pitfall. (i.e. the exciting parts weren't very exciting)
As with Condemnation though, the story itself (even though it's not told particularly well) is what makes this one a can't miss (and, believe me, you'll be completely lost come the next book if you don't read this one). I'm sure the writing will pick back up in the final two books. It would be a horrible shame for a series that started out so great to lose its readers before the final book is out due to poor author selection.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Story...not so incredible author
Review: War of the Spider Queen is still one of the best STORIES I've ever read. But the last two books...
The writing in Extintion was mediocre. I really expected a lot more from the writers in this series (though the first two were great).
The chapters started to drag on in places and I often found myself saying 'just get on with it' (especially with Hallistra and Ryld).Also, if you thought the action in Condemnation lacked depth, this one will aggrivate the (don't want to cuss) out of you! It suffered heavily from the "show don't tell" pitfall. (i.e. the exciting parts weren't very exciting) As with Condemnation though, the story itself is what makes this one a can't miss (and, believe me, you'll be COMPLETELY lost come the next book if you don't read this one). I'm sure the writing will pick back up in the final two books.
Rating:
Summary: drat!
Review: well, it tried. I always thought of Halistra as being a Nuetral Evil character and seeing her transformation was... weak. Question: where did Ryld get that dragon ring and why didn't he use it in the other novels? Overall it was slightly better than III but didn't match the power of the first two, but Gromph got to have fun and that is always a joy! The romance with Ryld and Hal was a snooze. But Valas and Dinafay finally get more book time. Like Baker, Smedman could have done better. I'm beginning to wonder if the series will look any better after this false hope. Annihalation better be spectacular or I'm giong to be very upset.
Rating:
Summary: A Challenge To Write
Review: While Extinction may not be the book the legion of Drow followers expected, it does accomplish it's sole task: Setting the stage for the End. Smedman had the uneviable task of writing the transition book in the War of the Spider Queen series. Following the collapse of Ched Nasad, and the parties journey into the Abyss, Extinction was forced to set the stage for the final two books. The writing throughout is well done, and the plot twists and character development leaves some surprises that leaves an avid fan of this series wondering where the drow are headed. This book leaves many questions that have you teeming for the 5th and 6th books. Well done.
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