Council of Blades

It's been a while since I've read this book, but I recall laughing myself silly every few pages. I am not, I repeat NOT, a Forgotten Realms fan. I've never read a single one except for this one. This book is more along the lines of a Terry Pratchett book. It's incredibly silly and the jokes are pretty good. I recommend it highly if you like Terry Pratchett. It doesn't have the depth of a typical Pratchett plot, but it is just as funny as one. The book reads more like a cartoon than a fantasy. Expect that when going in. No suprise, considering the writer is a cartoon and comic book writer. If you look him up on imdb.com, you will see that he did the dialogue for the Discworld video games from the mid-90s. Hence, the silly novel this became. Looking at the other reviews of this book, it looks like people were expecting a serious D & D fantasy story. Therefore, a lot of the reviews seem to be reflective of people's disappointments rather than a fair review of a book that was meant to be a comedy/parody.

It wasn't quite what I expected from a forgotten realms novel. Thing happend in a tiny place of no outside importance. A place with strange, pompous, and sometimes rididculous rules of warfare.This book is hilarious. The vast majority of the book wil make you laugh. But along the way characters are developed. Make no mistake, there is a story here. There is drama, characterization, and plot, but humor underlies them all.

Although not quite as polished as his Greyhawk trilogy, I still found this book to be quite enjoyable. It's not your typical FR novel, but considering how formulaic the line has become, this is a good thing. Kidd's stories include unusual characters, and the dialogue sparkles with wit. If you're looking for a standard fantasy novel look elsewhere. If you're looking for something engaging and different, read this.

Maybe Forgotten Realms series readers aren't seeing what they expect. I admit to being a Paul Kidd fan, from books and periodicals. This time he surprised me, with some anacronisms which were yet handled plausibly: surprising gadgets, on which he didn't try to hang the whole story; a little politics, more a matter of how the characters and cast get along. Months later, I remember the links between scenes created by cherry scent to mask chemicals here, an exploding rat there. A pyrotechnic purse for discouraging pickpockets had other uses. The princess isn't simply a pretty ornament and is set on being her own, studious person. Stepmom on one side of door, giant bird on other as comic relief. Vilains stand on their own: soldier tired of playing at war; ambition, sword and trickery in another. I cared what happened, forgot my troubles, found a fantasy with a life of its own. If you set prejudices aside, I think you'll enjoy. Not strictly sword'n'sorcery, or renaisance, or fantastic creatures, Council of Blades is in its own world, but within that, it makes sense, and a good read.

This is another example of what fantasy ought to be, but rarely is. There is just the right mix of humor, action, romance, and magic to make the book charming, but no one element overwhelms the others. It may not be Paul Kidd's best ever, but it's head and shoulders over most published fantasy.