The Jewel of Turmish: The Cities

The book is set in the city of Alaghon a.k.a. the Jewel of Turmish a.k.a. the Throne of Turmish (p. 9), on the southwestern shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars a.k.a. the Inner Sea in the region known as the Vilhon Reach, where it deals with the main character Haarn Brightoak, a half-elf druid, whose devotion to Silvanus and the preservation of the balance is unquestionable. As he sets out to find the poachers responsible for the killing of a she-wolf he meets Druz Talimsir, a Cormyrean mercenary from Suzail, who will make him look at life from a different perspective. Things will become more complicated when an undead follower of the evil god Malar is freed from his eternal prison and embarks on an unholy crusade to overwhelm Alaghon and the entire Vilhon Reach region... The Jewel of Turmish is the third in the Cities series which consists of The City of Ravens (set in the city of Ravens Bluff), Temple Hill (set in the city of Elversult), and The City of Splendors (set in the city of Waterdeep), though as other viewers have accurately pointed out there is much more wilderness than city in this novel. The plot as a whole is very good. Mel Odom's descriptions are accurate and vivid and subsequently, help the reader produce mental images with great ease. Mel Odom sheds light, albeit a small dose, on the Forgotten Realms when he briefly describes the blue dragon Anaglathos, and Malar's appearance during the Time of Troubles. (p. 9) Moreover, the dream sequence described in chapter 9 was intriguing. Was the voice, however, that Tohl heard really Eldath's or was it one of her adversaries'? In addition, the author's words ring true when he states: "Nature doesn't bargain. It is neither merciful nor merciless and only requires that the strong survive. Whether you are strong enough to survive is up to you." (p. 66) Mel Odom also provides some adult themes which were interesting such as: "You'll be back hiring yourself out to them old sailors." (p. 32) Furthermore, the following description is as good as any I have seen when describing an Entangle spell: "She watched in amazement as the trees around the slavers came to life, twisting and writhing like arthritic snakes." (p. 64) "Tree branches reached down and caught the man up, curling around him and ripping at his clothing and skin with rough bark." (p. 65) Finally, Mel Odom does a good job of conveying the sheer power of Evil vis-à-vis Borran Klosk: "His tongue opened the woman's midsection like an overripe tomato and spilled her entrails before her" (p. 164) and "Barnaby saw the old sailor's brain's break through the back of his skull, propelled by the monstrous tongue." (pp. 237-238) On the down side, why didn't Malar send any of his priests and/or elite warriors/hunters to aid Klosk? Why did the wizards that control Allis never make their appearance in the book or intervene in the final battle? We only know that they worship Malar, they created the coral artifact, and they control Allis. That's it

Ignore the introduction on the backcover of the book, it is misleading. Exacting readers could also ignore the title.Unlike Temple Hill and City of Ravens, the Jewel of Turmish did little to explore the city of Alaghôn, nor justify the city its name nor the book its title. The story was divided between two threads, the druid Haarn and sellsword Druz in the wilderness, and the ancient evil Borran Klosk escaping from his captivity to spread terror in the Vilhon Reach. While both threads were properly developed in their own right, their intertwining was almost accidental and had no element of a plot at all.The author planned well the series of events which gave the readers an intimate insight into the character of the druid hero. He did not do so well with the villain Borran, readers were left guessing to Borran's actual motivations.There were numerous references to events in the From the Sea trilogy by the same author, I guess Mel Odom just couldn't resist. Though there was *some* connection, the repetition just gets on the nerves after a while.As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the author appeared to find too little pages to do justice to the climax after a skillful build-up which took 262 pages (the book had 311). The element of intrigue deftly introduced by Allis, the liason officer assigned to Borran Klosk by shadowy masterminds working behind the scenes, simply evaporated. It could have been put to better use, the additional pages would have been justified by a stronger storyline.While I have no real complaints about the hero and the villain having only *one* showdown, it was brilliantly done and flowed very well with the story (who needs recurring encounters anyway), I was rather disappointed that it did not bear any significant impact on the hero; emotionally, intellectually or otherwise.

Let me start by saying this is a great book. Just like all of Mel Odom's books his characters seem so real and true to life that you start to feel for them. Once you start into this book I guarantee you wont be able to put it down. Soo do yourself a favor and buy this book! You wont regret it!