Lord of Souls: An Elder Scrolls Novel Author: Greg Keyes | Language: English | ISBN:
0345508025 | Format: EPUB
Lord of Souls: An Elder Scrolls Novel Description
Review
"Praise for the Elder Scrolls Games: "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion isn't so much a game as it is a lifestyle choice, like getting married or having children" (The Onion A.V. Club)"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Greg Keyes is the New York Times best-selling author of the novels The Waterborn, The Blackgod, plus The Age of Unreason tetralogy. He has also written the Star Wars: New Jedi Order novels Edge of Victory I: Conquest, Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, and The Final Prophecy. His most recent series is the ambitious The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone. He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
- Series: Elder Scrolls
- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey; Original edition (September 27, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345508025
- ISBN-13: 978-0345508027
- Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
[This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy - 316 pages]
<Warning - May contain SPOILERS>
The Lord of Souls is the second and currently final book in the Elder Scrolls series written by Greg Keyes. Based on the award winning Bethesda video games, the story continues with our various heroes and their fight against the floating city of Umbriel. Attrebus and Sul are still searching for the legendary sword Umbra in hopes that it will aid them in destroying Vuhon, Lord of Umbriel. Annaig and Mere-Glim, still trapped in the floating city, perform their duties as cook and sump skraw just to survive. Colin continues to investigate the conspiracies against crown and kingdom. Lastly, two new Imperial characters, albeit rather minor, are introduced to the story. Mazgar, a female orc warrior and Brennus a human mage are part of an Imperial reconnaissance that aid in the flight of the Cyrodiil citizens as Umbriel approaches. As with the first book "The Infernal City," the timeline is still approximately 40 years after the Oblivion crisis. Here are my thoughts on The Lord of Souls;
Pros
+ More action this time around.
+ Great cover art.
+ Attrebus becomes a bit less of the cliché Prince. Inspector Colin gets more face time which was great as I really enjoyed his character.
+ Quick, enjoyable and easy read written by an accomplished author.
+ It's good to have another novel in the world of the Elder Scrolls.
Cons <Contains SPOILERS>
- Majority of the romantic relationships in the book still felt forced, instant and unrealistic.
- Again there were no maps included.
...from being too scattered.
As an evil floating city lays waste to the land, several disparate groups attempt (in their own way) to stem the tide of undead that threatens the Elder Scrolls universe.
In the run up to the much anticipated Skyrim, this tie-in novel is the sequel to The Infernal City and continues the stories of Prince Attrebus and his compatriot Sul, Annaig (who has become a Demon Chef in Umbriel), the reluctant revolutionary Glim... as well as two Scouts, and a pair of Spies for the Emperor.
I have to say, while I did enjoy each plot line individually, throwing them all together in a single novel seemed to have the effect only of watering down the action and drama. Attrebus and Sul's brief adventure for the sword with which they hope to extract Umbriel (the demon, not the city) is alright, but I was much more interested in Annaig and her concoctions of emotion-based haute cuisine.
Then there's Glim and his budding relationship with an oddly harmless demon girl or the orc warrior woman (who's name escapes me at the moment) and her retreat to the capital... or Colin and his collaboration with another of the Emperor's personal spies that hovers on the cusp of being interesting. They all fall flat towards the end.
And that's a complaint about the entirety of the novel, really... every story, every encounter, every conflict, it's like they're half there and not fully fleshed out. It's like you're watching a compilation/recap episode of a series where they only show you the important snippets here and there. There's great stuff, but they're just thirty second (or, in this case, page) clips of the action, not well developed, fully formed stories.
I was especially disappointed with Colin's parts.
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