Crypt of the Moaning Diamond: The Dungeons

This is not your typical DnD setting book. Far too often it seems like the authors of these books put use the (once) TSR/(now) WotC logo as a crutch for sloppy and weak texts. Ms. Jones nicely avoids that trap and provides a very entertaining tale that blends both action and whimsy. At times the pace did flag somewhat and the tension that was supposed to be generated with the rising water disappeared halfway through the novel. However several cleverly written scenes and fresh takes on standard (even repetitive) ideas more than compensated. In just one example, it other hands the use of 'monster poetry' is just careworn and hackneyed, but under Ms. Jones capable quill it was a rather snappy. I found myself both smiling and rolling my eyes (in a good way) at it. In fact I found myself laughing several times during the second half of the book and now have a completely unique way to deal a rust monster should one ever show up in a game. In retrospect, learning of the author's opera writing background seems to fit the story very well - faint echoes of an enjoyment of Gilbert and Sullivan seems to stir in the quirky-yet-strangely-consistent characters. It was disappointing to find out that this was her first novel as I was hoping to pick up a few other fantasy works by her. I guess I'll have to just keep my eye open for what she puts forth in the future.

The author does a great job of balancing character development with just the right amount of action and classic Dungeons & Dragons style dungeon crawling. I always give extra credit to a D & D novel that gives me the feeling that I could be playing one of the characters in a tabletop campaign, and this book does not disappoint in that department. After all, if I wanted straight fantasy I would not be buying a Forgotten Realms D & D novel. Often I'll get discouraged by some aspect of a Forgotten Realms book (those that get bogged down in excessive character development, endless streams of faceless characters with similar-sounding names, or too many sequels) and find my interest waning, but Rosemary Jones kept me hooked! I also own Neversfall and the Depths of Madness, and I found this book to be a superior read. The first thing I did after finishing this book in record time was to look for more from this author. It seems I'm in luck as "City of the Dead" is set for release next year (2009). Now I'll just have to wait half a year for it...!

This book ended up surprising me I enjoyed it a lot more then I thought I would, the last couple of Forgotten Realms I've read have been so-so. The book is a stand alone and doesn't assume the reader has any knowledge of the Realms. It centers around a group of mercenaries that specialize in sapping walls and the like rather then actual pitched battle with enemy armies. As the book opens a they've been brought in to help bring a quick end to a siege that's started to drag on. Without giving away too much of the plot they end up discovering ruins the city was built on while digging and have to make their way through them trying to find a way to bring down the walls. All and all the plot was good it wasn't anything new but it was paced well I didn't find myself skipping ahead as I tend to do. My favorite part about the plot was the fact that it was so low key the main characters weren't unstoppable heroes single-handedly winning the war and they weren't on some epic quest that would radically alter the world. They were a small (albeit important) part of a larger army fighting a in relatively minor conflict and to me this was a welcome change from a lot of fantasy novels today. The main strength of this novel though was definitely the characters they really end up making the novel. The main is Ivy the nominal leader of the Siegebreaker mercenaries and most of the novel follows her occasionally going to others when important to the plot. I found her to be one of the more enjoyable characters I've read lately particular in her interaction with the other characters. For the most part all the conversations and relationships felt real whether it was her easy camaraderie with Mumchance a dwarf with whom she's worked the last ten years or tweaking over proper Sanval the army officer watching over their progress. I can't think of anybody who I was supposed to like that I ended up finding annoying although I thought a few of the other members of the group could have been fleshed out a little more, occasionally it seems like they're making inside jokes the reader doesn't know about. Hopefully at some later point the author will write another novel or short story about them. All in all it was a great start for a new author and exactly what I wanted a good fun read.

Crypt of the Moaning Diamond is the fourth book of the Forgotten Realms' stand alone series called The Dungeons; Depths of Madness, The Howling Delve, and Stardeep being the other three. In this book, Rosemary Jones tells an adventurous story about a little group of mercenaries called the Seigebreakers, whose good natured interest lies in tearing down fortifications. In this novel, a force of orcs and hobgoblins has taken control of the city Tsurlagol, a city that has been built and rebuilt so many times the local history has lost count. Beseeched by Tsurlagol, the nearby king of Procampur has begun a campaign to aid their neighbor and take back the city. The king hires the Seigebreakers to find a way into the city that the Procampur army can use to rout the goblinkin. Ivy, the leader of the mercenary band, develops a plan to bring down a wall by digging beneath and collapsing it. Her band of mercenaries consists of a half orc warrioress, a Genasi mage (a half water elemental), a Teifling rogue (a devil spawn), a dwarf, and dog named Wiggles. Their plot to take down the wall involves using the Genasi's gift with water magic by flooding the foundation to weaken it. To do this the mage draws water from a nearby underground river and diverts it using her magic. Overseeing the mercenary's work is a Procampur knight who seems to be the paragon of polite society. Due to the nature of their plan, the ground of the dig site collapses sending the Seigebreakers and knight into the river below. After breaking free of the water and regrouping they find themselves stranded underground with a river fast rising around them and no way to control it. They soon discover that Tsurlagol's history isn't gone, just hidden deep beneath the current city. Rosemary Jones' tale is more fun adventure than dark horror, as I was assuming the story would be. She still weaves an action filled, exciting story around great dialogue. Interspersed are some comedic moments and several gripping scenes where the characters get into bad to worse situations. The story was great fun to read. Her mastery of good dialogue is wonderful and is kind of a breath of fresh air. This is definitely a high fantasy, dungeon crawl and does not falter in its delivery. She keeps the story moving between fast and faster as the characters are stuck in a dilemma that presents very little options. Each character has their own little personalities that make for compelling depth and allows the reader to find the one character they identify with. Negative comments regarding this story are very few. The first being I expected more of a horrific story with very dark undertones. Not so, but I got over it quickly and enjoyed the book after easily getting into the story. The second being that it ended in a manner much different than I expected, like it just suddenly let go of the tension building desperation it gathered. The ending itself was entertaining and even though it was sort of ant

I think it's a fair comparison. I've read The Howling Delve and Stardeep and liked them both. There is a whole new cast of characters which the author introduces surprisingly well as their features and characteristics are folded into the story. There are a few new beasts and villains and the author does well to describe some of our old favorite beasts and well as the new ones. I got a visual a couple of times that just made me want to read even more to see how they were dispatched..if they were. Probably the first time I actually dreamed about a Forgotten Realms story since the last book I read from Kemp, so I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.