Not Exactly the Three Musketeers

Rating:
Summary: Half-hearted at best
Review: Another Great book for the Gaurdian of the Flame series. I was a little disipointed it didn't continue with Jason. I would have given 5 stars if the book would of continued with the original characters. Ahira was not even mention and Walter and Ellegon did not have a big enough roll. Yet the book was a good filler until the next book in the series comes out!!!

To the readers who liked the book, but did not read any of the prior books in the series I think you would be diong your self a favor to try and get a hold of the hole set if possible.

Rating:
Summary: Without options! This will force you to call in sick to work
Review: As so many others who have read these books I too find myself locked away in the linen closet till the book is done. Wow what a great way to compose a story from three supporting characters of past novels! However I must admitt that I am stuck on Jason and his epic tale to come. This one was a good buffer to wet our taste buds but I was a little dissapointed to find out that this was not the Jason story! Oh well, I still really enjoyed this book and Rosenberg is now the only fantasy author that I will read! Just because his stuff is: THAT GOOD! So do yourself a favor and pick this up or you will miss out on an inportant part of the GUARDIANS saga.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely an enjoyable book.
Review: I actually started the series by reading this book (thank you, Andy, for the gift. Good call) and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Summary: Three soldiers are dragged into a political argument and ordered to investigate a minor dispute in the outreaches of the realm, which leads to more than anyone had bargained for.

Pretty good opening concept, although I never read the backs of the books (it ruins the surprise for me). What interested me more than anything else was the pure grittiness of the world that Joel, whom I'm sure doesn't mind being on a first-name basis from me, captured and dropped into my hands. In a land of magic, legends and dragons, one wouldn't expect there to be hardship in simply travelling or even danger in getting a simple drink.
If life were so simple, there wouldn't be much of a story. So the attention to detail, the dangers of everyday life in a world without constant police presence, was impressive.

The characters are hardened veterans, having fought, bled and watched those they've known fall in battle, or even in a street fight. They're honorable without being fanatical about it, exceptionally practical and utterly dedicated to their lord. Joel captures and keeps the societal differences between our world and theirs, and the consistency of it was well done indeed.

The characters are Pirojil, ugly as can be and never is he portrayed otherwise, Durine, large and dangerous and distant, and Kethol, heroic and not too bright but humble. Despite their weaknesses, they are engaging and make for some plausible interaction. It seems obvious that people who have worked together for a long time would know each other, but Joel makes it a point to note some of their conversational short-cuts, and includes some failings among friends that are understandable.

Summary: Great characterizations, a good story and some creative solutions to tricky problems. If you liked Glory Road, Outlaws of Sherwood and/or the Deed of Paksenarrion series, you'll like Not Exactly the Three Musketeers.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not great
Review: I didn't realize when I bought this book that it was part of an ongoing series. I was disappointed because the author didn't really seem to make any effort to bring the reader in to his world, so I was screwed because I'd never read the other books in the series. The characters and plot had potential, but they seemed empty and cold, and I found myself longing for deeper characterization, especially of the "heroes" and their relationships with each other. How did they meet? Why did they become friends? What keeps them together? These and other questions all seemed inadequately addressed and made me wonder, at times, if they weren't characters carried over from some other book (which indeed they are). If you're a fan, maybe you'll like it, I couldn't really say, but don't try to read it with no knowledge of the world.

Rating:
Summary: Decently written, but grey in nature
Review: I have read ALL of the previous Guardian Novels and can say this one follows nicely... To [e-mail], if you want a description of the past characters, read the previous books. :) You have to understand that they have gone through generations, not just years. Walter is now 50 years old and most of the Othersiders are dead or old.

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Companion to the "Guardians of the Flame" Series
Review: I really enjoyed this book.This is more of a companion story with less about our first group of heroes than to the previous 6 books in the series .Joel really lets us see the world through the soldiers eyes instead of the gallant heroes in the earlier Guardians of the Flame novels..There is plenty of action and a truly unique comraderie with these 3 guys..They get into trouble,get out of it,and right back in..By the time you get halfway through this book you'll love these misfits.I found myself laughing while reading this book & at some points wanting to cry..Never a dull moment & a must read for any Rosenberg fan,Guardians of the Flame fan,or fantasy lover...

Rating:
Summary: WWW: Well Worth the Wait
Review: I skipped work to gobble this one upyesterday and then reread it today.

Rosenberg keeps surprising me with the Guardians of the Flame series. The first books were well-done swashbuckling [sp?] fantasy series, with well-above-average characters, the best damn fight scenes in modern fantasy, and a quirky bloodymindedness that kept me wondering if Karl Cullinane could still be alive.

Then the second series, the two Walter Slovotsky books, turned things inside out and made it all close and personal.

Now, with the (eighth?) latest book in the series, Rosenberg seems to be reinventing heroic fantasy with almost casual ease.

No, they're not exactly the three musketeers. If you want a Dumas pastiche, read Steve Brust's Parfi (sp?) books.

This one is something else, as though Rosenberg is trying to reinvent what Dumas and ERBurroughs and Sabatini were getting at in their time.

My only question for "Jayar" (I caught the cameo appearance by Rosenberg in his own book -- very sneaky, Mr. R!) is:

When's the next one?

Rating:
Summary: Dumas should have had it so good
Review: I'm not sure I buy the notion that Rosenberg's three heroes are intended to reprise Dumas' -- Durine and Pirojil could maybe both lay claim to being Porthos, while Kethol is much more D'Artagnan than Aramis, but none of them parallel terribly well -- but that's more than okay.

What I absolutely love about this one is the interplay between the three characters, much moreso than in the Dumas books. Their three-way partnership, while rarely overtly discussed in the book, is the heart of the story.

It sort of reminded me of a really, really good buddy movie, except that there isn't just one pair of buddies, but three, and half the fun is watching them not quite get along.

A terrific book.

Rating:
Summary: A fun read
Review: This book is a fun read. I started reading the guardians of the Flame series a few years ago and have enjoyed them all.

The book starts off a little slow but has great character developement and by the end you won't want to put it down. In fact you'll be sad that it's over.

This the first time that the leads of the story are neither Othersiders or the son of an Oothersider and it is fun to see things from a different point of view.