I tried. Seriously, I really, really tried. I tried to piece together the story that Greenwood was telling, but, at the end of the day, I just couldn't be expected to put more effort into it than Greenwood obviously did.
In my review of the last issue, I tried to piece together what we knew and didn't know. I'm going to work off those points now, since I think it'll show how little progress we actually made in this issue. Then, I'm going to address my real issue with this issue.
Unknown #1: Last issue, I noted that we didn't know the details of the original kidnapping, the one that Talandra herself arranged. We don't get an answer to that question here. In fact, Greenwood makes it more complicated by revealing that Talandra arranged the kidnapping to escape her family. I initially bought that justification, but, upon reflection, it makes no sense. First, her bodyguard helped arrange the kidnapping, but, since he was also her lover, it doesn't seem likely that he'd be so willing to arrange for her to escape Waterdeep without him. Second, if she just wanted to escape Waterdeep, it seems like something that she could've accomplished without arranging a fake kidnapping. As such, we not only don't get a resolution to this question of how she wanted to be kidnapped, we also still don't really have a believable reason why she wanted to be kidnapped.
Unknown #2: We never learn why Glasgerd wanted Talandra killed in the Ghost Holds and not in Waterdeep. In fact, I'm not entirely sure I understand why Glasgerd wanted her killed at all, other than some general desire to bring about the fall of the House of Roaringhorn.
Unknown #3/New Plot: Here, we learn that the shape-shifter is Awngryth, the guy in pursuit of the "moondar" (see "New Plot" from my review of last issue). However, this revelation complicates things when it comes to the shape-shifter and his role in this story. First, I'm still not sure if the shape-shifter is the same person as the robed figure who previously briefed Glasgerd on Malric's progress in issue #2. As such, I'm still not really sure whether Glasgerd and the shape-shifter are working together or separately. Moreover, I'm not really sure now what the shape-shifter, if he is Awngryth, wants to achieve. Originally, he simply wanted to help Malric kill off House Roaringhorn so that he could eventually kill Malric and take his place at the head of the family. Here, however, he seems less motivated by killing Talandra than he does by finding Randral and Torn, since one of them allegedly possesses the moondar. Is it why he got Randral and Torn involved in the kidnapping in the first place in issue #1? So he could kill two birds with one stone? I'd actually buy that argument, but, since Greenwood doesn't actually make it, I could be imposing more logic on the story than actually exists. Plus, why bother? Couldn't he have sensed the moondar when he ran into them in issue #1? Why bother piggy-backing on Glasgerd's plan if he could've just achieved his goal on his own in an alley in Waterdeep?
Unknown #4: We also never really know why Malric dispatched the mercenaries after Talandra last issue. Did he, or did he not, trust Maurit to handle the job?
Finally, I was left stunned by the sloppiness of the final twist of this series, the decision by the three "heroes" to throw in their lot together and not return to Waterdeep. First, Greenwood never addresses the main problem with this decision, namely the fact that Randral and Torn are still cursed until they bring Talandra to House Roaringhorn. Since Greenwood does nothing to show any real affection between the duo and Talandra, or, at least, enough affection for the duo to decide to spend the rest of their lives cursed, it seems unbelievable that they wouldn't even discuss this wrinkle to the deal. But, more to the point, since that affection is completely lacking, it's unbelievable that they'd even make the deal in the first place. Instead, Greenwood has Randral and Talandra just suddenly declare how awesome the other is, despite the fact that we haven't really seen any reason for why they'd feel that way. Sure, Talandra killed snake-guy to save Randral. But, considering that Randral was only being threatened by snake-guy because he was helping her escape her kidnappers, it seems the least that she could do. Sure, Randral was helping Talandra. But, considering that he was only doing so because he was cursed, I'm not entirely sure how much Talandra should trust him. But, instead, everyone just decides the other person is super keen and they all leap through a portal to the "Border Lands." Who needs character development, when you have magic portals!
Speaking of the portal, why, oh, why, would Oljak help them escape the Ghost Holds in the first place? Isn't he helping Awngryth in his plan to kill Malric so that he can secure the treasury of House Roaringhorn? Wouldn't he want to kill Talandra to arrange just that? Greenwood leaves several other plot points unresolved beyond the ones mentioned here. Just to name two, we never discover what happened to Talandra's brother and we don't learn whether Lord and Lady Roaringhorn discover Malric's treachery.
At the end of the day, you may ask why I care. Why would I write this long post, given that few people (if anyone) is likely to read it? Why bother? In the end, I bother because I really hate bad fantasy. I had the idea that authors can just phone in fantasy because it's fantasy. It's like the "Simpsons" episode where Lucy Lawless tells a group of fans at a convention that, anytime that they notice a continuity error on the show, "a wizard did it." This comment, while hilarious, is exactly the problem with "Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms." Greenwood confuses bad writing with intriguing plots. Sometimes, bad writing is just bad writing. Unfortunately, it's all too common in fantasy writing, where authors spend more time describing the magic system that they invented than getting us to care about the actual characters.
At the end of the day, I still can't believe that I lost Fell's Five for Greenwood's Three. It seems to me that the switch shows everything wrong with fantasy writing and comic books right now. At the very least, if I can't have the former, I no longer have to suffer the latter.
Showing posts with label Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms (2012). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms (2012). Show all posts
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms #3 and #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
All right, so, in frustration, I re-read the first two issues of this series before reading the most recent two issues in an attempt to try to understand the plot better. The following recap attempts to put together all the plot points, mostly for my benefit. Anyone reading this series, feel free to correct me and/or suggest other possibilities, because I admit to being somewhat lost.
Plot #1: Talendra's uncle, Malric, wants her, her brother, and her father dead, so that he can become the head of House Roaringhorn. We still don't know what he's done to Talendra's brother, but we do know that he hired Maurit to kill Talendra. He has promised the use of the "Roaringhorn riches" to some merchant named Oljak, who's working with the shape-shifter that we've seen sever times throughout this series. The shape-shifter apparently plans to kill Malric and take his place at some point.
Plot #2: For reasons that are still unclear, Glasgerd wants House Roaringhorn to fall. He has also hired Maurit to kill Talendra, though I'm not sure if Malric knows that he has. His goal is to orchestrate the fall of House Roaringhorn in a way that leaves him beyond suspicion, so he's doing everything that he can to aid Malric's plan, since it entails House Roaringhorn destroying itself. When Glasgerd's ally, Imbrar, sees Maurit on the streets of Waterdeep (without having reported into them that he killed Talendra), the two of them go looking for him.
Unknown #1: We still don't know the details of the original kidnapping, the one to which Talendra agreed. I'm pretty sure that Talendra didn't agree to be kidnapped by Maurit, but I'm not entirely sure.
Unknown #2: I'm still not entirely sure why Glasgerd wanted Talendra killed in the Ghost Holds. I think, but don't know for sure, that Malric just wanted Maurit to kill Talendra, period. But, in issue #2, a robed figure makes it clear that Glasgerd wanted Maurit to lead Talendra into the Ghost Holds and kill her there. Moreover, I'm pretty sure that Glasgerd manipulated Randral and Torn into "helping" Talendra specifically so that she could get lead into the Ghost Holds (more on that part in the next question). At this point, you have to ask why he didn't just have someone kill her in Waterdeep. It implies that he has a more specific goal than Malric does (who just wants her dead) though I don't know what that is or why it involves the Ghost Holds.
Unknown #3: I'm not sure if the shape-shifter is working directly with Glasgerd or on his own. The aforementioned robed figured briefs Glasgerd on Malric's actions in issue #2, but I'm not sure if it's the same figure as the shape-shifter. It would make sense if they were working together, particularly since it was the shape-shifter that got Randral and Torn involved in the kidnapping by directing them to Talendra in issue #1. By doing so, he helped facilitate (in theory) her pursuit of Maurit through the sewers and into the Ghost Holds, as Glasgerd apparently wanted. Moreover, they both have the same goal, since the shape-shifter wants to kill Malric and take his place and Glasgerd wants House Roaringhorn to fall. But, if the robed figure from issue #2 isn't the shape-shifter, then we still haven't directly seen him and Glasgerd working together, making it difficult to prove that they are.
Unknown #4: I'm not entirely sure I understand why Malric dispatches the hirelings in issue #2 to go after Talendra. At first, it seems that their job was simply to delay the Watch and Lord Roaringhorn's men, allowing Talendra to flee through the sewers. But, they threaten her here, making it seem like they were sent to kill her. Did Malric not trust Maurit to do the job? Were they just redundancy?
New Plot: We learn that someone named Awngryth is hunting Randral and Torn because one of them is in possession of the "Moondar," a spell-gem that can apparently bond with the possessor without the possessor knowing it. One of them apparently has it due to their affiliation with their former master, Daroun.
Plot #1: Talendra's uncle, Malric, wants her, her brother, and her father dead, so that he can become the head of House Roaringhorn. We still don't know what he's done to Talendra's brother, but we do know that he hired Maurit to kill Talendra. He has promised the use of the "Roaringhorn riches" to some merchant named Oljak, who's working with the shape-shifter that we've seen sever times throughout this series. The shape-shifter apparently plans to kill Malric and take his place at some point.
Plot #2: For reasons that are still unclear, Glasgerd wants House Roaringhorn to fall. He has also hired Maurit to kill Talendra, though I'm not sure if Malric knows that he has. His goal is to orchestrate the fall of House Roaringhorn in a way that leaves him beyond suspicion, so he's doing everything that he can to aid Malric's plan, since it entails House Roaringhorn destroying itself. When Glasgerd's ally, Imbrar, sees Maurit on the streets of Waterdeep (without having reported into them that he killed Talendra), the two of them go looking for him.
Unknown #1: We still don't know the details of the original kidnapping, the one to which Talendra agreed. I'm pretty sure that Talendra didn't agree to be kidnapped by Maurit, but I'm not entirely sure.
Unknown #2: I'm still not entirely sure why Glasgerd wanted Talendra killed in the Ghost Holds. I think, but don't know for sure, that Malric just wanted Maurit to kill Talendra, period. But, in issue #2, a robed figure makes it clear that Glasgerd wanted Maurit to lead Talendra into the Ghost Holds and kill her there. Moreover, I'm pretty sure that Glasgerd manipulated Randral and Torn into "helping" Talendra specifically so that she could get lead into the Ghost Holds (more on that part in the next question). At this point, you have to ask why he didn't just have someone kill her in Waterdeep. It implies that he has a more specific goal than Malric does (who just wants her dead) though I don't know what that is or why it involves the Ghost Holds.
Unknown #3: I'm not sure if the shape-shifter is working directly with Glasgerd or on his own. The aforementioned robed figured briefs Glasgerd on Malric's actions in issue #2, but I'm not sure if it's the same figure as the shape-shifter. It would make sense if they were working together, particularly since it was the shape-shifter that got Randral and Torn involved in the kidnapping by directing them to Talendra in issue #1. By doing so, he helped facilitate (in theory) her pursuit of Maurit through the sewers and into the Ghost Holds, as Glasgerd apparently wanted. Moreover, they both have the same goal, since the shape-shifter wants to kill Malric and take his place and Glasgerd wants House Roaringhorn to fall. But, if the robed figure from issue #2 isn't the shape-shifter, then we still haven't directly seen him and Glasgerd working together, making it difficult to prove that they are.
Unknown #4: I'm not entirely sure I understand why Malric dispatches the hirelings in issue #2 to go after Talendra. At first, it seems that their job was simply to delay the Watch and Lord Roaringhorn's men, allowing Talendra to flee through the sewers. But, they threaten her here, making it seem like they were sent to kill her. Did Malric not trust Maurit to do the job? Were they just redundancy?
New Plot: We learn that someone named Awngryth is hunting Randral and Torn because one of them is in possession of the "Moondar," a spell-gem that can apparently bond with the possessor without the possessor knowing it. One of them apparently has it due to their affiliation with their former master, Daroun.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Dungeon & Dragons: Forgotten Realms #2: Although this issue is a moderate improvement over the first issue, I'm still not entirely sure what's happening and I still don't really like the characters all that much. (Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know.)
Last issue, we were introduced to Randral and Torn, two hooligans who, if I remember correctly, decided to kidnap Lady Talandra Roaringhorn after hearing another group of hooligans discussing its plans to do so. Talandra was somehow involved with this group, participating in her own kidnapping, for reasons that I don't quite remember (if they were ever made clear in the first place). However, something went wrong when a different group kidnapped her instead, for reasons that I again don't quite remember. The head of Talandra's guard detail is killed by this other group, who show that it's playing for keeps, and he places a curse on Randral and Torn that will activate if they don't rescue her. Greenwood also implied that Talandra's father's chief advisor, Malric, who I believe is his brother, is somehow involved with the kidnapping, but it was pretty unclear.
This issue sheds some light on the subject, but not all that much:
Randral and Torn manage to find Talandra just as the Watch and Lord Roaringhorn's own personal guard force converge on their location. (I can't remember how Randral and Torn found her or how the Watch and Roaringhorn's force knew where to go. Given the fact that kidnappers generally don't advertise their location, everyone seemed to get wind of the location conveniently quickly.) Randral and Torn take Talandra, who's now realized that something has gone wrong, and escape via the rooftops. Just as they're getting ready to take Talandra home, she spies Maurit, the head of one of the kidnapping groups, though I can't remember if it was the one that she essentially hired herself or if it's the one that she didn't expect to arrive. For reasons that aren't explained, she takes off after Maurit, with Randral and Torn at her heels, and the trio follow him into the sewers. Meanwhile, someone named Glasgerd schemes with a wizard of some sort to whom he owes a group of "sinister wizards" and, elsewhere, Roaringhorn's wife convinces him to allow her to lay a trap for Malric to see if he's on their side or not. The Watch follows our group into the sewers, but they're waylaid by a team of mercenaries that we previously saw Malric dispatch earlier. We learn that Malric sent the mercenaries under the orders Glasgerd, who also seemingly sent Maurit into the sewers to lead Talandra to a certain place. All these actions have something to do with his larger scheme of causing the fall of the House of Roaringhorn, but we're not given any motives yet. The trio come to a dead end and, realizing that Maurit has escaped, they (conveniently) find a secret door that leads them to a magical gate that leads them to a landing where they're attacked by a guy with swords. (Follow that? Yeah, it happened pretty quickly. I'm assuming that it's what Glasgerd wanted to happen and why he had Maurit lead them to that gate.)
This issue sheds some light on the subject, but not all that much:
Randral and Torn manage to find Talandra just as the Watch and Lord Roaringhorn's own personal guard force converge on their location. (I can't remember how Randral and Torn found her or how the Watch and Roaringhorn's force knew where to go. Given the fact that kidnappers generally don't advertise their location, everyone seemed to get wind of the location conveniently quickly.) Randral and Torn take Talandra, who's now realized that something has gone wrong, and escape via the rooftops. Just as they're getting ready to take Talandra home, she spies Maurit, the head of one of the kidnapping groups, though I can't remember if it was the one that she essentially hired herself or if it's the one that she didn't expect to arrive. For reasons that aren't explained, she takes off after Maurit, with Randral and Torn at her heels, and the trio follow him into the sewers. Meanwhile, someone named Glasgerd schemes with a wizard of some sort to whom he owes a group of "sinister wizards" and, elsewhere, Roaringhorn's wife convinces him to allow her to lay a trap for Malric to see if he's on their side or not. The Watch follows our group into the sewers, but they're waylaid by a team of mercenaries that we previously saw Malric dispatch earlier. We learn that Malric sent the mercenaries under the orders Glasgerd, who also seemingly sent Maurit into the sewers to lead Talandra to a certain place. All these actions have something to do with his larger scheme of causing the fall of the House of Roaringhorn, but we're not given any motives yet. The trio come to a dead end and, realizing that Maurit has escaped, they (conveniently) find a secret door that leads them to a magical gate that leads them to a landing where they're attacked by a guy with swords. (Follow that? Yeah, it happened pretty quickly. I'm assuming that it's what Glasgerd wanted to happen and why he had Maurit lead them to that gate.)
As you can see, we're still lacking a lot of information. My two main complaints last issue was that Greenwood didn't really give us a likeable character here and that he juggled way too many characters. Both still hold true. Randral and Torn aren't loveable scoundrels, but dimwitted hooligans, and Talandra is a spoiled brat. I can see where Greenwood might eventually develop them into something more, but it seems far in the distant future. The main problem continues to be the excessive number of characters and the unclear status of motives. We still don't know why Talandra tried to fake her own kidnapping. I'm pretty sure that we also don't know why the other group of kidnappers appeared, though I'm left to assume that Glasgerd sent them. (I think we're supposed to believe that Glasgerd engineered everything just to get Talandra through that gate, though it's pretty hard to believe. Also, if he just wanted her through the gate to be killed, why not just kill her in the first place?) We don't know why Malric is working with Glasgerd, or why Glasgerd is on the hook to provide "sinister wizards" to his cohort. We also don't know why Glasgerd chose House Roaringhorn to topple. On top of all these questions, Greenwood also has a separate subplot on the back burner, since Roaringhorn's son has apparently gone missing, something for which his wife blames Malric. Again, I can see where Greenwood will eventually get there in explaining what's happening, but it also seems a long way in the distance.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms #1: Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows that I think "Dungeons and Dragons" is one of the best titles on the market. John Rogers consistently delivers entertaining and intriguing stories that allow us to explore a dangerous and fascinating world through the eyes of a rag-tag band of so-called heroes led by a quick-witted charmer who's a little more serious than his banter implies. It's an excellent book, from pacing to art, from plotting to characterization. This new series, unfortunately, is not. Greenwood seems to suffer from having been too ambitious in his opener. He spent so much time trying to take us on a sprinting tour of Waterdeep that I'm not entirely sure what happened in this issue. For example, when we first encountered our main characters, I though they were bumbling bodyguards, only to learn that they were rookie smugglers. Then, they suddenly decide to become professional kidnappers, conveniently in time to hear of a kidnapping attempt imminently happening near their current location. The rest of the book is blur of crosses and double-crosses, a problem exacerbated by the fact that Greenwood sprinkles his attention on no fewer than seven other characters, making it extremely difficult to say who was doing what to whom. I'm perfectly fine with a book filled with sub-plots (just look at my love for "X-Factor") but Greenwood does WAY too much WAY too quickly here. We never get a chance to figure out the personal motivations of our main characters before we're elbow deep in the kidnapping plot. Whereas Rogers instills even his least likable characters with a easy personal charm and troubled back story that makes you incapable of disliking them, Greenwood makes exactly no one in this issue even remotely likable. The main characters seem to be thieves whose only positive character trait is their incompetence, the kidnapping "victim" is a privileged girl who was willing to risk the lives of her dedicated bodyguards for a little excitement, and everyone else other than the girl's parents are either directly and potentially involved in the kidnapping itself. I'm not saying everyone has to be a hero, but, if it's going to be a story about villains, you want to understand their motivations. Otherwise, you just get bad people doing bad things to one another, which is as interesting as good people doing good things to one another. Just like I don't want to watch a 12-hour "Highway to Heaven" marathon, I don't want to read an issue where no one manages to express any emotion other than greed. Given the upcoming cut to my comic budget, I'm going to cut off this series right now, because I doubt it's going to get any better. Hopefully this series isn't meant to displace "Dungeons and Dragons" and we'll see Fell's Five return shortly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)