The Black Bouquet (Forgotten Realms: The Rogues, Book 2)

Rating:
Summary: Good portayal of the iconic D&D character types
Review: I am not spoiling anything when I admit there is thievery afoot in this book; when a book is part of a series known as 'The Rogues', you would expect something to be stolen. I liked the choreography of the initial theft that serves as the impetus to the action of this book. The action is reasonably well-paced, especially as the major characters switch sides in order to possess, and restore, the Black Bouquet to its rightful owner. The major D&D character types of rogue, ranger, monastic (instead of monk), sorceror and wizard are portrayed very well, with useful insights for subsequent role-playing. This is a good fantasy novel.

Rating:
Summary: Good portayal of the iconic D&D character types
Review: I am not spoiling anything when I admit there is thievery afoot in this book; when a book is part of a series known as 'The Rogues', you would expect something to be stolen. I liked the choreography of the initial theft that serves as the impetus to the action of this book. The action is reasonably well-paced, especially as the major characters switch sides in order to possess, and restore, the Black Bouquet to its rightful owner. The major D&D character types of rogue, ranger, monastic (instead of monk), sorceror and wizard are portrayed very well, with useful insights for subsequent role-playing. This is a good fantasy novel.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing too worthwhile - don't expect much
Review: I read "the Alabaster Staff" before reading "the Black Boughet" (both being from the Forgotten Realms series, "the Rogues," and I must say I am very dissappointed. "the Rogues" had so much potential being as they were focusing on one of the more popular (and in my opinion, more interesting) character classes in the fantasy genre and roleplaying. This book was a let down from top to bottom, with only a few shining moments.

First of all, the main object of every single characters obsession was silly. It was an old book with formulas to make perfume that were "magical" in nature and people wanted to buy this perfume. Therefore the owner of the book would be making perfume and making lots of money - I mean lots of money. It is hard to get attached to the deeds and the desires of the characters when they are after something so silly.

Also, I had a hard time liking the characters. I really didn't care about any of them and had no real reason to hope for their success or their demise. There is one main character and two supporting characters, and then there are a lot of side characters that play what seemed like big roles. It got confusing just because there were so many small characters that kept rising up and showing their power for a chapter or two. Then they would dissappear and resurface later. The book is just frustrating and doesn't give any good reason to like it. The fight scenes and battles aren't really that great either. They don't grab ahold of you in any way.

However, there are a few shining moments, like I mentioned. First of all, like I said with "the Alabaster Staff," it is nice and fun to get a different perspective of different locations around the Realm. The city of Oeble is facinating and I would like to return there on a different adventure. The culture is similar to that of Calimport, mainly known from Enterei the assasin from Salvatore books. The other good thing is that the book is moderately intriging because there are a lot of twists and backstabbings. It is hard to tell who is in what party and what their true intentions are.

In my opinion, this book could be enjoyed by some and not by others - it is truely up to the reader to decide. The previously mentioned items are the only reasons why I gave this book two stars instead of one. It might be worth checking out but don't expect too much.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing too worthwhile - don't expect much
Review: I read "the Alabaster Staff" before reading "the Black Boughet" (both being from the Forgotten Realms series, "the Rogues," and I must say I am very dissappointed. "the Rogues" had so much potential being as they were focusing on one of the more popular (and in my opinion, more interesting) character classes in the fantasy genre and roleplaying. This book was a let down from top to bottom, with only a few shining moments.

First of all, the main object of every single characters obsession was silly. It was an old book with formulas to make perfume that were "magical" in nature and people wanted to buy this perfume. Therefore the owner of the book would be making perfume and making lots of money - I mean lots of money. It is hard to get attached to the deeds and the desires of the characters when they are after something so silly.

Also, I had a hard time liking the characters. I really didn't care about any of them and had no real reason to hope for their success or their demise. There is one main character and two supporting characters, and then there are a lot of side characters that play what seemed like big roles. It got confusing just because there were so many small characters that kept rising up and showing their power for a chapter or two. Then they would dissappear and resurface later. The book is just frustrating and doesn't give any good reason to like it. The fight scenes and battles aren't really that great either. They don't grab ahold of you in any way.

However, there are a few shining moments, like I mentioned. First of all, like I said with "the Alabaster Staff," it is nice and fun to get a different perspective of different locations around the Realm. The city of Oeble is facinating and I would like to return there on a different adventure. The culture is similar to that of Calimport, mainly known from Enterei the assasin from Salvatore books. The other good thing is that the book is moderately intriging because there are a lot of twists and backstabbings. It is hard to tell who is in what party and what their true intentions are.

In my opinion, this book could be enjoyed by some and not by others - it is truely up to the reader to decide. The previously mentioned items are the only reasons why I gave this book two stars instead of one. It might be worth checking out but don't expect too much.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great.
Review: I'm not a great Richard lee Byers. I've found some of his other books difficult to read. But this one flowed better. And I enjoyed reading it.
The villans are excellent characters as is Miri. The lead character Aeron and the book in general, seemed to lack a little something.
And i'd like to see more stories about the villians or Miri. But not Aeron. Which possibly explains why I don't think the book is worth five stars.
If your a forgotten realms fan. You should enjoy this book. Although don't let the rouges title, lead you into thinking the books about thieves . There was little stealing , just alot of sneaking, fighting and double dealing.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read! Good Series
Review: I've read this and the Alabaster Staff, and both have been great.

The main character is interesting, and he also takes a bit of a personal journey as the story unfolds.

This is a fast paced read, with interesting characters and well done villains. The city of Oeble is described well, providing a stark contrast to other FR cities, like Waterdeep and Shadowdale.

Besides some editing mishaps, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I look forward to the next installment in the Rogues series.