Soldiers of Ice (Forgotten Realms - The Harpers, No 7)

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Breakaway from plot architypes
Review: A stand-alone novel in the FR Harper series. I loved thedescriptions of the frozen environment; some of the best I've read inany novel (this coming from someone who lives in the snow). The book breaks away from conventional "good vs. evil", blurring the lines, showing both sides of the battle with intriguing characters. Don't expect a cliff-hanging plotline, but do expect a fresh look and new take on the way characters and the overall book is portrayed as compared ot other FR novels. My only complaint is that there hasn't been a sequel written (yet - knock on wood).

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Breakaway from plot architypes
Review: A stand-alone novel in the FR Harper series. I loved thedescriptions of the frozen environment; some of the best I've read inany novel (this coming from someone who lives in the snow). The book breaks away from conventional "good vs. evil", blurring the lines, showing both sides of the battle with intriguing characters. Don't expect a cliff-hanging plotline, but do expect a fresh look and new take on the way characters and the overall book is portrayed as compared ot other FR novels. My only complaint is that there hasn't been a sequel written (yet - knock on wood).

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: About time that they wrote about the lifestyles of the "monsters". They seemed more "human" than one would originally think. A pioneer in the industry they should write more like this.

Rating:
Summary: Awe inspiring cover art... little to be found inside.
Review: I read this book some years ago now and I remember not being overly thrilled with it. I don't think that I was happy with the way the story went. The book was purely medicocre, especially in the character development. its a shame, The cover art was awe inspiring, too bad the story wasn't.

Rating:
Summary: Good Ol' fashioned smash mouth D&D
Review: The title of this review a bit misleading. The book has some very refreshing aspects. Some interesting twists in some case's well into the book, we find out some of the characters are not what they appeared to be. It does take the reader by surprise. Aside from that, it is just a straight forward, mages and magic swords be damned all out brawl of a D&D game made novel. Gnolls and elementals, dwarves, humans. No new and unheard of races suddenly appear in this one, no wild god like magic wielded by gods-wish-they-were-this-powerfull characters. No Magical swords with the power to slay anything and everything, or fly and create miracles or whatever else the character happens to need at any particular moment. This is just a straightforward, novel with beleievable and good solid characters wrought into a fine storyline. Read this book. You will like it.

Rating:
Summary: NOT THE BEST!
Review: Unfortunately Soldiers of Ice was a bit of a disappointment! The title is a bit misleading if you are expecting epic battles/wars. There are encounters with ice mephits and elementals and gnolls, but the book lacks that extra something needed to push it over the top. Both the plot and the writing are average. Instead, I recommend other books from the Series such as Red Magic or Parched Sea to mention a few, all the while keeping in mind the "heavy artillery" Forgotten Realms novels that have been written by RA Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham, Ed Greenwood etc My advice, read the Soldiers of Ice only after you're done reading most of the other Forgotten Realms books and you are still in need of more Toril related material.

Rating:
Summary: NOT THE BEST!
Review: Unfortunately Soldiers of Ice was a quite a disappointment! The title is a bit misleading if you are expecting epic battles/wars. There are encounters with ice mephits and elementals (one of each...) and gnolls, but the book lacks that extra something needed to push it over the top. Both the plot and the writing are average. Instead, I recommend other books from the Series such as Red Magic or Parched Sea to mention a few, all the while keeping in mind the "heavy artillery" Forgotten Realms novels that have been written by RA Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham, Ed Greenwood etc My advice, read the Soldiers of Ice only after you're done reading most of the other Forgotten Realms books and you are still in need of more Toril related material.

Rating:
Summary: Not another run-off-the-mill FR novel
Review: While the language, the storyline, and the characters in this novel are mediocre at best, there was something that caught my attention as truly unique. For a welcome change, there are no epic battles, no world-shattering magic, no mighty kings or ancient dragons, and no scorching romance stories. It is a tale of small-water heroics and mere survival. And yet, it carries a strong question: are we truly different from those we fight, no matter how bestial they look?