Venom's Taste: House of Serpents, Book I

Venom's Taste deals with a neglected part of the Realms: the Vilhon Reach and specifically the city of Hlondeth (located southwest of the Sea of Fallen Stars). The book sheds light on Arvin, a rogue/psion, and his efforts at preventing the enslavement of the city's human population who are being used as pawns in the ruling yuan-ti political schemes. In the process he will realize that saving himself might be more than he can handle let alone saving the general population... The book starts off incredibly well, immediately catching the reader's interest and attention. The plot as a whole is excellent! The book is so incredibly well written and presented that the reader feels that they have been transported to another plane of existence and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. Lisa Smedman has done a FANTASTIC job of acquiring and presenting, efficiently and successfully, essential knowledge relevant to Faerun, including customs, religion and the history of the peoples of Toril. Her solid grasp of factual detail makes her capable of providing the necessary background needed to carry out the difficult task of writing Forgotten Realms novels, which is something often missing from the work of many Fantasy authors. Consequently, from the moment you pick up the book you have trouble putting it down and if that is not a clear sign of a fantastic writer/author, I don't know what is! Relations between Hlondeth's yuan-ti and humans are described very well and in great detail throughout the book so that the reader truly feels what it's like to be under the thumb of the yuan-ti. In addition, this is the first time I've seen members of a Thieves' Guild really making extensive use of Thieves' Cant. Moreover, beginning on page 92 and up until the end, the author provides valuable information regarding psions and their powers. Lisa Smedman also does a fantastic job of presenting the sheer evil of the cult of Talona early on in the book (pages 14-20). Furthermore, on pages 232-233, the author provides one more exceptional portrayal that helps teleport the reader to Faerun, with the description of Hlondeth's infamous execution Pits. Finally, I was pleasantly surprised when halfway through (pages 154-155) a priest of Assuran (Hoar) makes his appearance (Assuran happens to be my all time favorite of the Faerunian gods!). On the negative side, the author repeatedly presents Arvin's experience at Ilmater's priesthood-run orphanage as something resembling Oliver Twist or some Catholic school from the past e.g. on page 303, "Arvin's body tensed. No. He wouldn't. That was sewage down there, foul-smelling, filthy-chocked water laden with disease. The stench of it brought back all of Arvin's worst memories of the orphanage and the cruel punishments Ilmater's priests had inflicted on him. Of being wrapped in magical stink that wouldn't wash off, that made him the subject of other childre

Venoms Taste is the most mature and nuanced novel I have seen published under the D & D imprint. The protagonist becomes entrapped in a plot involving family rivalries, fanatical cults and political conspiracy. Ms. Smedman addresses a number of areas usually left unexplored in D & D novels including racism, slavery, gender identity, and sex. Hopefully this marks a new mature direction in D & D fiction. I recommend this book for mature readers looking to graduate from the young adult level that dominates game related fiction.

After the adolescent ramblings of Ed Greenwood, or the excessive hero worship of Robert Salvatore, Lisa Smedman's writing is a welcome relief. The character of Arvin is the most mature, realistic and reasonable I've encountered in the D & D milieu. I cannot say enough how motivated and deep the characters are; and the ideas are fresh and new, and free of the Deus Ex Machina thinking that so often renders novels in this space absurd or two dimensional. I look forward to more of Ms. Smedman's work, and I hope WOTC (or whoever they are now) will hire more of her type so that the readership expands and the genre becomes vital again.

I wasn't really too interested in reading this after having read Extinction from the same author. Extinction was the weakest of the 4 novels offered in that series so far. Halls of Stormweather had a short story about Tazi that i didn't really like. Never read the novels about Tazi. However, after glancing through the first couple pages, Venom's Taste seemed somewhat interesting. This is the first book from Lisa Smedman that I liked. I must say that i finished the entire thing in one sitting. Very good novel that kept me riveted and in bed all day long. The story moved and the characters weren't uber munchkins. And it also focused on psionics which is pretty much a first for D & D novels.

Lisa Smedman is fast becoming my favorite author in the fantasy genre. Venom's taste is a great example of her skill at creating multi-dimensional characters and intricate plotlines without resorting to bloody battle sequences to move things along. I am constantly delighted by her sense of detail. She is a master of sensory description, giving the reader clear pictures of key players and locations. The main character's frustrations and determination give the plot a juggernaut-like feel of power and movement. I only wish the next installment were scheduled for release sooner!