Rating: 
Summary: A decent follow-up
Review: I am typically not a fan of multi-book series, because many times it seems that writer is trying to string us along so we will by more books.I did not get that feeling with this book. I enjoyed this story and the characters were fun to read about. This is not an earth shattering piece of fantasy fiction, but it is good. It is the type of book you read just for pleasure, with no expectations. I have never played the computer games, so I can't atest to whether the book follows a similar storyline. This was an enjoyable read and I don't think you will be disappointed with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Judging by Past Results, the Future Doesn't Look so Bright.
Review: I believe that a new adage should be added to the list of wise old adages: The computer game is better than the book. Now, I haven't read this book yet and will reserve judgement for when I actually read it (and, as such, have given it a 3 star (average) rating), but all too many novels based on games nowadays fall into this rut. This is due in no small part to the fact that most novels of games are written when the game itself is part way through the development cycle, at which point nothing is really set in stone. The novels for Torment and BG 1 were like this and, based on past experience and another old adage ("history repeats itself"), I am not expecting a great deal from this product. The characters are probably going to be far different from the actual characters in the game, the locations will probably be scathingly innacurate (anyone remember the "Friendly Arm's Inn" from the BG 1 book? (The true location in the game was the "Friendly Arm Inn", mind you)), and the events portrayed in the novel will probably be quite far removed from the actual events taking place in the game. Note the word 'probably' in the previous sentence, though. For all I know, the book could be a splendid work of craftsmanship, a masterpiece to rival the finest literary professionals of all time, and a poignant narration on the human condition. Who knows. I certainly don't and neither does anyone else. Only time will tell on this book...
Rating: 
Summary: Baldur's Gate
Review: I have played the computer game so I was very troubled about the author messing around with the main characters. He killed Jaheira and she is in the next computer game- Shadows of Amn. Over all it waas very poorly written. I have never given a bad review but this needed to be said.
Rating:
Summary: 13-year old chump who likes to read
Review: I have read both books of this little series and I thought the first one was better, but thats just my opinion. This book is kind of confusing at the end but I think anyone reading it won't have to much difficulty figuring it out. Overall, it was cool,but like I said it can get a little confusing. -tTe game that the book is based on is pretty cool,too!
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: I personally have never played the baldur's gate game , so I had no pre-conceived notion about the characters or setting of the book. All I can say is that the book on it's own merit is an enjoyable work of fiction and it did what it was intended to do, keep me entertained. I understand that there are those that will gripe about how different the book is from the game, that's understandable, as the book is written and the game is programmed by different people. Those who expect everything to be the same between the two should take a moment to realize the world (or the realms) is not a perfect place. Thank you Mr. Athans for a job well done
Rating:
Summary: The worst, and I mean the WORST, book ever.
Review: I was pretty sure it couldn't be good when I bought it; what could you except? But I just had to see what was in it, the game being so great and all. When I actually read it... at first, I was sort of captivated, though I didn't particularly like the author's choices. Then I started feeling disappointed, which quickly changed to disgust that almost managed to keep deepening throughout the whole book, particularly as the end was written so ridiculously badly.
Different bad areas of the book included:
The plot: It looked like the author had been given a list of the main events in the game, each described in at most one short sentence, and he'd interpreted it as badly as possible.
The quality of writing: Simply bad. The only real descriptions were ones of sex or violence, otherwise it was just "they went there an' did that".
The characters: This is what really makes the book so disgustingly stupid. The protagonist, Abdel Adrian (may his wormlike soul be used as a bait for Hadesian fish forever), is stupider than an old boot, violent, selfish and weak-willed. He's also a hero, it says so in the book. It appears that he'd killed Khalid and Jaheira had fallen in love with him (anyone who's played either BG knows that's not exactly likely). And now this "Jaheira" was captured; what is the first thing our hero does? Goes to save her? No, that's the second thing, the first is to betray her with another woman. And then Adrian (may his name be used as a swearword by people with good taste everywhere) has to be dragged along the plot forcefully, because his attitude is "Why would I wanna save the world and myself? I'll just go home." Apparently, Athans' BG 1 was a growth story where he became a... better person, and it shows in that now he occasionally decides *not* to kill someone after all, or pauses to think a few hypocratic thoughts.
The other characters are simply paper-thin and ridiculous. All the women are either sex objects or then weirdos who like Adrian even though he's usually only ever harmed them. About the most important function of Jaheira is to comfort him when he feels guilty about betraying her (he didn't mean to do it, and resisted the temptation for a whole two seconds). The illogicality of the other characters' behaviour shows in that Adrian becomes a bloody Hero in spite of what a disgusting idiot he really is. The dialogue is what you might expect from a combination of such writing skills and such characters.
Overall, when reading this, I felt rather cheated, but even more insulted. First, I play, with a heroic character (well, on another occasion villaneous, but at least I didn't pretend to be a hero then), this great game, enjoying its good plot, rich dialogue and characters and tactical and somewhat challenging battles. Then I read this book, supposedly based on the game, starring a violent, moronic infidel and a group of illogical, impersonal side characters, with a ridiculous plot, stupid dialogue and some gory and boringly elongated violence scenes.[....]
Rating:
Summary: Not appropriate (IMHO) for preteens/kids
Review: I was quite disappointed and somewhat shocked. In addition to the poor writing style/etc. pointed out by the other reviewers I was disturbed to find a sexual encounter with a vampire and then a lesbian sexual encounter later in the book. I am by no means a prude and recognize the rather explicit nature of our society today, however it still surprised me to find them present. I have long been a fan of the D&D based/themed books (Dragonlance, FR series, etc.) but this really is trash. I hope it does not reflect the nature of the other D&D books which are out there since my son enjoys reading them - and I certainly hadn't expected this type of content. I'm going to need to catch up on my reading (yes, we do censor what our child reads/watches/etc.) before allowing my son to read any more in these settings.
Rating:
Summary: Not appropriate (IMHO) for preteens/kids
Review: I was quite disappointed and somewhat shocked. In addition to the poor writing style/etc. pointed out by the other reviewers I was disturbed to find a sexual encounter with a vampire and then a lesbian sexual encounter later in the book. I am by no means a prude and recognize the rather explicit nature of our society today, however it still surprised me to find them present. I have long been a fan of the D&D based/themed books (Dragonlance, FR series, etc.) but this really is trash. I hope it does not reflect the nature of the other D&D books which are out there since my son enjoys reading them - and I certainly hadn't expected this type of content. I'm going to need to catch up on my reading (yes, we do censor what our child reads/watches/etc.) before allowing my son to read any more in these settings.
Rating:
Summary: Sick, perverted and way too strange (Imoen is a lesbian?)
Review: I've played through Baldurs Gate: Shadows of Amn a number of times and was so into the genre and general story I thought reading the book would add to the general enjoyment. However, this book was very disappointing. I found the book poorly written, having a limited range of vocabulary and with a poorly structured plot. By this I mean that the story that people who play the game are familiar with is mauled out of shape in this tale. The characters are badly drawn and not really fleshed out. I had no real affinity for the main character, Abdel, at any point during the read. Battles and fights seem to waste words on gruesome or over-gory details. Anyone who knows the story could write so much better than this. Probably one of the worst books I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Wasted Opportunity
Review: I've played through Baldurs Gate: Shadows of Amn a number of times and was so into the genre and general story I thought reading the book would add to the general enjoyment. However, this book was very disappointing. I found the book poorly written, having a limited range of vocabulary and with a poorly structured plot. By this I mean that the story that people who play the game are familiar with is mauled out of shape in this tale. The characters are badly drawn and not really fleshed out. I had no real affinity for the main character, Abdel, at any point during the read. Battles and fights seem to waste words on gruesome or over-gory details. Anyone who knows the story could write so much better than this. Probably one of the worst books I've ever read.
|
