The Glass Prison (Forgotten Realms)

Rating:
Summary: Plain and Predictable
Review: Ever since the well-deserved success of R. A. Salvatore's dark elf stories, I've noticed a trend by other writers to create their own characters who also strive to overcome their innate, evil nature. Some of these authors have succeeded quite well (Elaine Cunningham's Liriel, Christie Golden's Jander Sunstar). Monte Cook is not one of them. Vheod simply lacks depth. We aren't given any substantial information about his history in the abyss, aside from his having been an assassin-for-hire, and the incident that caused him to flee from that world. We're never given an explanation for the 'Taint' he wears and how he got it. And just under what circumstances did a human woman copulate with a fiend from the abyss? How and why was Vheod born? With the exception of Whitlock and Melann ( who's holy enough to be annoying) and perhaps the Ravenwitch, the rest of the sub-characters in this story also lack substance. There isn't enough time devoted to the abyssal fiends manipulating Vheod's course or their cohorts who are trying to set Char'en the demon free. As for the story it follows a predictable trail to a point where Vheod faces Char'en and decides between good and evil. All in all, this book is just an old formula with no depth.

Rating:
Summary: Great new hero!
Review: Finally a great new hero! I'm a fond reader of dragonlance and forgotten realms books and take a special interest in the tanar'ri and the Abyss in general. That's why I loved this book. A cambion-hero is excellent! Though the writing style doesn't really match R.A. Salvatore's, the story itself is good. The parts I liked the most were the beginning, where Vheod escapes the Abyss after battling the vorrs, and the ending where Vheod defeats the Balor. This book is an excellent step to a trilogy like "the Cambion Trilogy". Already The Glass Prison shows many similarities with the books on Drizzt Do'Urden, escaping his evil homeland and adapting to the ways of Faerun. Even the skin color of Vheod is the same as Drizzt's. This, however, should not dissuade Monte Cook from giving us the full continuing story of Vheod and his pursuer Nethess(and hopefully even the Abyssal Lord Graz'zt himself!). I'm sure it'll be a hit, since the presence of a cambion in the Forgotten Realms is great!

Rating:
Summary: The best book I ever read
Review: I loved the book. Not only because Im an Adnd player but because the descriptions made me feel like I was there.

Rating:
Summary: The best book I ever read
Review: I loved the book. Not only because Im an Adnd player but because the descriptions made me feel like I was there.

Rating:
Summary: "There is no mercy in the Abyss, creature!"
Review: The Glass Prison deals with a familiar part of the Realms: the lands between the Thunder Peaks and Tilverton (the wildlands on the eastern border of Cormyr).
The book sheds light on Vheod, a Cambion out of Broken Reach, a city found on the Outer Plane of the Abyss, as he copes with his evil nature and tries to overcome its inherent evil. He teams up with Melann, a human priestess of Chauntea and her warrior brother Whitlock in search of a Balor, named Chare'en, who threatens the region and possesses the key to lifting the curse that has been plaguing their family for generations.

On the positive side, the book is very well written, and the plot as a whole is excellent.
Moreover, the main hero, Vheod (Thief/Fighter/Wizard Pp144), is an interesting character.
In addition, my favorite part of the book was the Abyssal story involving the shipwright and Demogorgon, which I thought was great!

On the negative side, there are too many similarities between Vheod and Drizzt Do'Urden.
Moreover, it would have been very helpful to have had "flashbacks" from Vheod's life and past experiences in his homeworld. There are some elements of Planescape, though more were needed to get a better feel for the Abyss.

Overall, Monte Cook does a good job of conveying the sheer power of Evil, such as in the case of the Ravenwitch: "The thorns dug into his bared flesh so that the ravens' blood flowed down the vines and into his wounds." Pp197
As for Chare'en, "Chare'en was the embodiment of anathema. He was living despair, destruction, and desecration." Pp278

Hopefully, a sequel will be written shedding light as to what comes next.


Rating:
Summary: Falls short of expectations.
Review: There are many good FR novels written in which characters from dark worlds shed their culture's evil mind-set and seek their own paths. Most notably would be R. A. Salvatore's dark elf stories, Christie Golden's vampiric elf hero, and Elaine Cunningham's naughty but nice Liriel, the dark elf sorceress. Monte Cook makes his attempt to join this circle with this tale of the half-demon/half-human character Vheod. For all its potential, the story falls short of creating a character with any impact. Vheod simply lacks depth. We are never given a substantial history into Vheod's life in the Abyss. We only know that he was an assassin for hire and he was chased out by a stronger demon after renegging on an assassination contract. How was he born of a human woman, and why? What is the 'Taint' he carries and how did he get it? This predictable story also fails to create sub-characters of any real substance either. There isn't enough time spent developing the 'bad-guys' in this tale, so they come off quite generically. And consequently, when the final showdown between good and evil takes place in this story it has all the impact of a ripple in a small pond.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, but could have been better
Review: This is one of those books that keeps you reading and reading. Since I play Dungeons And Dragons I enjoyed reading about Tanar'ri and the abyss. The plot was good and the piece of romance thrown in was good. Read this book, you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This is one of those books that keeps you reading and reading. Since I play Dungeons And Dragons I enjoyed reading about Tanar'ri and the abyss. The plot was good and the piece of romance thrown in was good. Read this book, you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad at all...
Review: This was my first AD&D book, even though I play a lot. I thought the book was actually quite good.. I don't have many bad comments about the book... The characters were very solid, as was the plot... Monte Cook is a good writer for an excellent campaign in an even cooler universe.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad at all...
Review: This was my first AD&D book, even though I play a lot. I thought the book was actually quite good.. I don't have many bad comments about the book... The characters were very solid, as was the plot... Monte Cook is a good writer for an excellent campaign in an even cooler universe.