The Jewel of Turmish (Forgotten Realms: The Cities)

Rating:
Summary: The title was a misnomer, but it was a nice story
Review: Ignore the introduction on the backcover of the book, it is misleading. Exacting readers could also ignore the title.

Unlike Temple Hill and City of Ravens, the Jewel of Turmish did little to explore the city of Alaghôn, nor justify the city its name nor the book its title. The story was divided between two threads, the druid Haarn and sellsword Druz in the wilderness, and the ancient evil Borran Klosk escaping from his captivity to spread terror in the Vilhon Reach. While both threads were properly developed in their own right, their intertwining was almost accidental and had no element of a plot at all.

The author planned well the series of events which gave the readers an intimate insight into the character of the druid hero. He did not do so well with the villain Borran, readers were left guessing to Borran's actual motivations.

There were numerous references to events in the From the Sea trilogy by the same author, I guess Mel Odom just couldn't resist. Though there was *some* connection, the repetition just gets on the nerves after a while.

As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the author appeared to find too little pages to do justice to the climax after a skillful build-up which took 262 pages (the book had 311). The element of intrigue deftly introduced by Allis, the liason officer assigned to Borran Klosk by shadowy masterminds working behind the scenes, simply evaporated. It could have been put to better use, the additional pages would have been justified by a stronger storyline.

While I have no real complaints about the hero and the villain having only *one* showdown, it was brilliantly done and flowed very well with the story (who needs recurring encounters anyway), I was rather disappointed that it did not bear any significant impact on the hero; emotionally, intellectually or otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: The title was a misnomer, but it was a nice story
Review: Ignore the introduction on the backcover of the book, it is misleading. Exacting readers could also ignore the title.

Unlike Temple Hill and City of Ravens, the Jewel of Turmish did little to explore the city of Alaghôn, nor justify the city its name nor the book its title. The story was divided between two threads, the druid Haarn and sellsword Druz in the wilderness, and the ancient evil Borran Klosk escaping from his captivity to spread terror in the Vilhon Reach. While both threads were properly developed in their own right, their intertwining was almost accidental and had no element of a plot at all.

The author planned well the series of events which gave the readers an intimate insight into the character of the druid hero. He did not do so well with the villain Borran, readers were left guessing to Borran's actual motivations.

There were numerous references to events in the From the Sea trilogy by the same author, I guess Mel Odom just couldn't resist. Though there was *some* connection, the repetition just gets on the nerves after a while.

As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the author appeared to find too little pages to do justice to the climax after a skillful build-up which took 262 pages (the book had 311). The element of intrigue deftly introduced by Allis, the liason officer assigned to Borran Klosk by shadowy masterminds working behind the scenes, simply evaporated. It could have been put to better use, the additional pages would have been justified by a stronger storyline.

While I have no real complaints about the hero and the villain having only *one* showdown, it was brilliantly done and flowed very well with the story (who needs recurring encounters anyway), I was rather disappointed that it did not bear any significant impact on the hero; emotionally, intellectually or otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favor and buy this book!!!
Review: Let me start by saying this is a great book. Just like all of Mel Odom's books his characters seem so real and true to life that you start to feel for them. Once you start into this book I guarantee you wont be able to put it down. Soo do yourself a favor and buy this book! You wont regret it!

Rating:
Summary: Not so great
Review: The first half of the book has great development of the lead character and went at a nice pace. However, things start to fall apart as Mel seemed to realise that he only has very few pages to continue the story. So everything went hyperspeed, from the sudden emergence of Haarn's father, to the final meeting between Haarn and Borran (which was finished in less than 50 pages). I get a very dissatisfied feeling after reading this book. My personal opinion is that this should have been a thicker book, with the final portions of the story fleshed out. I've read the other 2 Cities book, the both are better than this one.

Rating:
Summary: Not so great
Review: The first half of the book has great development of the lead character and went at a nice pace. However, things start to fall apart as Mel seemed to realise that he only has very few pages to continue the story. So everything went hyperspeed, from the sudden emergence of Haarn's father, to the final meeting between Haarn and Borran (which was finished in less than 50 pages). I get a very dissatisfied feeling after reading this book. My personal opinion is that this should have been a thicker book, with the final portions of the story fleshed out. I've read the other 2 Cities book, the both are better than this one.

Rating:
Summary: NOT Worth the Time
Review: This book took a looooong time getting to its point. It begins with Druid, Harn, looking for the killers of wolves in his forest. After a while, he ends up chasing a wolf of his own accord, and this takes up over 2/3rds of his story. Personally, the story fleshed out his character, but did little for excitement, as you pretty much knew the outcome long before the pair ever faced one another. By the time he goes head to head with the villain you really have to wonder about his ultimate motivation, and exactly why things are happening.

The Villian never really gives a reason for his quest, aside from the undead standard "I hate all living beings" spiel. Klossk pretty much is played as pure evil, with no redeeming qualities at all (you never even feel like his attacks are somehow justified in his own mind). As an aside, his werespider compatriot is the only really intersting character and I would have loved to have seen her fleshed out more. Also, the Klossk is some rare type of undead, but no explanation of how his being such a creature differentiates him from other more well known undead types. 2 paragraphs and all the confusion over his Morgh status would have been resolved.

At the end of it all it all comes down to the question of whether the book is worth reading. If you like really well fleshed out characters, with no real background then you'll love this book. Looking for a fun interesting read? Pass.

The other complaint about this book isn't that it is part of the City Series, and 90% of the book is set in the wilds, but rather that it had no sense of where it was located. This story could have taken place in any world setting. This one really dropped the ball.

2 stars for characterization only. This could have been a terrific read!

Rating:
Summary: NOT Worth the Time
Review: This book took a looooong time getting to its point. It begins with Druid, Harn, looking for the killers of wolves in his forest. After a while, he ends up chasing a wolf of his own accord, and this takes up over 2/3rds of his story. Personally, the story fleshed out his character, but did little for excitement, as you pretty much knew the outcome long before the pair ever faced one another. By the time he goes head to head with the villain you really have to wonder about his ultimate motivation, and exactly why things are happening.

The Villian never really gives a reason for his quest, aside from the undead standard "I hate all living beings" spiel. Klossk pretty much is played as pure evil, with no redeeming qualities at all (you never even feel like his attacks are somehow justified in his own mind). As an aside, his werespider compatriot is the only really intersting character and I would have loved to have seen her fleshed out more. Also, the Klossk is some rare type of undead, but no explanation of how his being such a creature differentiates him from other more well known undead types. 2 paragraphs and all the confusion over his Morgh status would have been resolved.

At the end of it all it all comes down to the question of whether the book is worth reading. If you like really well fleshed out characters, with no real background then you'll love this book. Looking for a fun interesting read? Pass.

The other complaint about this book isn't that it is part of the City Series, and 90% of the book is set in the wilds, but rather that it had no sense of where it was located. This story could have taken place in any world setting. This one really dropped the ball.

2 stars for characterization only. This could have been a terrific read!

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but, well....
Review: This fast-paced novel, the third in the alleged "Cities" series has little in common with the other books in the series except that they all take place in the "Forgotten Realms" (a shared fantasy world) and that all show journeyman-level prose, plotting and editing. I'm not really sure why this novel was included in the "Cities" series when it would have just as well made a solo novel (from a content standpoint). Perhaps the submittals crossing the desk of the series editor were a little thin and... what the heck, even though only about 30 pages actually take place in a city, we'll put it in the series (ah, the marketing standpoint!). You learn very little about the city of Alaghon other than it has a port, some taverns, and a lot of graveyards. This book should be part of the "wilderness" series.
That minor quibble aside, what you have here to look forward to reading is an action-packed (definitely rated R for violence and bloodshed) roadtrip by Haarn, a half-elf druid and Druz, a mercenary swordswoman to stop an ancient evil from annihilating one of the cities of the Forgotten Realms.
The characters are well-drawn and just enough complexity is added to make you care about them but Odom shows his strong point as a writer by capulting you through the action to arrive at a climax that takes place five pages before you close the book. The supporting cast of minor characters is well described (even though most are killed) and the numerous plot strings are well-woven into the storyline. Along the way he alternates characters and locations, draws out the suspense and most importantly, makes you ask :"what happens next?"
A few minor 'huhh??'s':
In an interesting exchange with a man-killing wolf, the druid Haarn is able to exchange complete sentences (who, what, why, etc.) but is unable to communicate with his bear sidekick and aide-de-combat in other than feelings. Why one animal and not another? I know, the animal sidekick thing is a staple of fantasy literature, but it could have used a little more fleshing out.
The ancient intelligent evil was trapped, not in stasis, but incarcerated for a hundred years in a tomb, yet he emerges with motivations of bloodlust and conquering that are cardboard caricatures. This would have been really interesting if Odom had elaborated on an undead creature with motivations born of a century of conscious imprisonment, but it's only glanced upon. Instead we hear plenty about its brain-piercing tongue.