Unholy

I don't like to give the story away, but Byers wrote a great three book set that every fantasy fan should read. The 100 year thing doesn't make me happy, but Byers dealt with it perfectly.

This is a fine ending to the trilogy. The characters finally seem to come into their own and I was pleased that Byers brought back the main group of them to finish the tale. The twist ending between Malark, Tam, and the rest was a nice touch but the last 20 pages felt a bit rushed. If you enjoy reading fantasy novels, particulalry those related to Dungeons and Dragons, this is a better than average choice.

Richard Lee Byers, Unholy (Wizards of the Coast, 2009) Finally, the end of the Haunted Lands trilogy, the books that were going to make Advanced Dungeons and Dragons cool again. The first two books did a darned good job, now all that remains is for the third to finish the job. Did it work? We open long after the events of the first two books. Aoth and company have become a band of sellswords, the Brotherhood of the Griffon. Both they and the remaining zulkirs of Thay (save, of course, Szass Tam) have fled to the Reach, where they live in exile, realizing there's not much hope of ever going home again but always trying to find some chink in the armor. This becomes something of a priority when it is discovered that Szass Tam has also been plotting, but while the others are focused on taking back Thay, Szass Tam is focused on obliterating the entire planet. Aoth and friends are forced into an unholy alliance with the zulkirs in order to try and take down Szass Tam. But things are not always as they seem... I have to say that this one just didn't grab me the same way the first two books in the series did, but if you've read this far, that's not going to be a problem for you; you know these characters, you understand their motivations, you're already two-thirds of the way through this story. You gotta know how it ends, so you're going to read this book. And don't get me wrong, it's not bad, it's just not as good as its predecessors. Byers does know how to throw a curveball, though, and the end is satisfying enough. A must-read if you've already invested in the series. If you're new to it, go back and start with the first one first. *** ½

(Book 3 of 3 from the Haunted Lands Trilogy) If you have not read the first two books, Unclean and Undead, do so before reading this review and the third novel; it makes the ending more worthwhile. I have been a big fan of fantasy, some being Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Jim Butcher, Magic the Gathering, so when I saw this series near the beginning, I picked it up at Unclean and continued through to this novel, Unholy. It is an easy flowing novel that does not pack too much creativity (being that Richard played alot of his "aces" in his first two books), but it is still a good, raw war novel. Synopsis: The zulkirs have been pushed out of Thay by the Soulplague to Wizard's Reach where they begin to get pressured by the locals. Bareris gets wind of an ancient artifact that former zulkir, Druxux Rhymn, died for possessing. This artifact contains some hidden power that bestows its beholder with the power to recreate the cosmos, or world, to his own bidding, however destroying the current one. -Needless to say, Szass Tam wants his grubby, dead fingers on it. Bareris convinces Aoth to bring this trouble to the zulkirs' attention and must convince the pompous crew to react, and retake Thay before its too late. -Meanwhile, Szass Tam is erecting leering towers, called Dread Rings, that are to be used in the ritual with the terrible artifact. Once the allies find out these are the source of power, they cast of the Wizard's Reach and must destroy them. With the help of the recent traitor, Malark Springhill, and So-Kehur, Szass Tam must defend against the might of the entire zulkirs' army led by Aoth and the Griffon Legions. -The last novel harbors many battles, some are drawn out, yet some pack some cool surprises that help carry the story along. Szass Tam runs into some trouble within his own ranks that leads to a change of plans for the omnipotent zulkir. Aoth and his crew lead an endless string of forays into the enemy's lands against near impossible odds, yet prevail to fight another day. Also, So-Kehur has taken the liberty of making a few "anatomical" modifications to improve his physical prowess. -Many personal vendettas are settled within this novel: Bareris and Tsagoth, Malark and Aoth, Szass Tam and the zulkirs, and the rest of Thay's thirst for vengeance against the horrid, stinking masses of the undead. -The novel gradually works up to a large, full-scale battle that calls every person with invested interest into the inevitable confrontation of good and evil. Opinion: Overall, the novel was worth the read while providing a good summation to the long battle of Thay. It was a quick read, and I truly did not glance at the page number while reading (a way I know I enjoyed the novel). -The quirks I had was some of the reckless abandon in which the characters went about their troubles. Bareris, being undead, always seemed to fight in battles with no trepidation or caring, which is not suspenseful for the reader because you know he can't be m

Unholy by Richard Lee Byers is the third and final novel in The Haunted Lands trilogy. The first two books are; Unclean (Forgotten Realms: The Haunted Lands, Book 1) (Bk. 1)n, and Undead: Haunted Lands, Book II (The Haunted Lands) (Bk. 2). This novel takes place approximately 100 hundred years after book two. This time jumps brings this novel into the `modern' era of the Realms, post-Spellplague. I know some ardent Forgotten Realms fans will shun this book (and future Realms book) due to the Spellplague, but I don't understand how people can deride a novel or novels without ever reading them. Quite honestly, I noticed very little difference between this novel (and other 4th Edition novels) and the previous novels. After all, I read novels to be entertained, so if I am entertained the novel accomplished its goal. Here are my thoughts on this book. The plot of this book, being that it takes place approximately 100 years after book 2, follows in the footsteps of the second novel but not as closely as one may expect for a third novel in a trilogy. There are a couple separate plot elements in this book such as a plan by Szass Tam that may have much larger ramifications than anyone could possibly guess, the Brotherhood of the Griffon seeking to expand on their reputation, and several elements of revenge that add a grittiness and harshness to the story. There are also a couple subplots sprinkled in to give the story an extra elements; things such as loyalties that are continually challenged, what will come of the power-hungry zulkirs, and lastly if Szass Tam's plan succeeds what will become of Thay. That is quite a lot to cram into one novel, however, I never felt like Mr. Byers lost control of the story or any plot point for that matter. It flowed well and the break up of the chapters, and sections within the chapters was spot on to allow the story unfold on its own. I have always enjoyed when a story is allowed to develop on its own, versus being dragged along by the characters. I will admit I was a little confused at the overall story line of this novel, mostly because it seemed so much different than the previous two plot wise. I would even go so far as to say that this novel could have been a standalone novel and it would have been just fine. In the end though, just basing this book on itself and not the entire trilogy, I enjoyed it. Plenty of action and more character development than I expected. Even with the time jump, the majority of the characters in this book are the same as have been present in the first two. Characters such as; Bareris, Aoth, Mirror, Szass Tam, and the remaining zulkirs (Neveron, Samas, Lauzoril, and Lallara). Being that the plot is so chalk full, I was amazed at how many different characters Mr. Byers included in this book, most of which had some type of character development, which is always a plus for me. There are several things I enjoyed about the characters, some of which I can't really talk about due to spoiler pot