In Sylvan Shadows - Verdict
Mar. 19th, 2026 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalinara posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
i_read_whatSo that one was basically a giant meh, to me.
It's disappointing, really. After a really strong start like Canticle, I had pretty high hopes for this book. But it really didn't deliver for me.
Plot:
The plot was fine, I suppose. Serviceable. We had recognizable stakes and a decent amount of excitement. But I spent most of my time wondering why I should care.
I mean, yes, of course, I want to see the invaders defeated and the innocent defenders win. But there were no real personal stakes involved in any of this. Cadderly, Danica, the dwarves, they could have been replaced by Drizzt, Wulfgar, and Bruenor and had the same emotional tie to Shillmista. Which is none.
And the one character who had an emotional tie to the events, the one who SHOULD have made us emotionally invested in the outcome, was too busy being a petty dick and a bully. Maybe a little reflection could have saved it - if Elbereth admitted that he was lashing out at the nearest target because he felt so powerless over what was happening with his home and people, it might have worked.
As it is, I didn't care as much as I should have. And I'm sad about that.
So let's talk about the Characters:
I liked Cadderly. I thought his post-Barjin trauma was really well-written. I like that he's overwhelmed and freaked out by the way his world has suddenly changed from a sheltered existence where he basically got to play the sitcom mischief maker to something more real and scary. I liked that he wanted to, and tried to, show mercy to even "monsters". And I dislike that the narrative seems to think he's in the wrong for that.
But the problem is, there's only so long you can watch a guy get kicked while he's down. We spent god knows how long watching him get bullied by Elbereth. His friends are completely unsupportive. He spends three quarters of the book feeling useless. And while he gets a few genuinely triumphant moments toward the end, we see them get immediately forgotten about.
He ends the book alone and honestly, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I'm not sure I want him to meet up with these assholes again.
As for the others, well...they're just awful.
I really liked Danica and Cadderly as a couple in Canticle. But here, Danica spends all her time feeling this battle kinship with Elbereth, which could be fine and compelling, if she wasn't watching Elbereth bully the guy she's supposed to be in love with, CONSTANTLY. What the fuck is that? She's also completely unsupportive whenever Cadderly has a crisis, and I'm supposed to buy them as lovers?
I'm not saying a girl can't have her own friends, or that she has to drop everything when her boyfriend needs her, but SOME kind of consideration is basic fucking courtesy. These two are supposed to be in love, and I barely get the sense that Danica even likes him. There's no indication at all of any kind of respect.
I talked about Elbereth. He's the worst. He had a moment of growth and then completely backslid. And poor Galladel was completely ineffectual in a transparent attempt to make Elbereth look better. I just feel really bad for the Shillmista elves, because we have seen Elbereth demonstrate exactly zero traits that would indicate he'd be a competent ruler.
The dwarves were fun, I guess, but a bit too prone to comic relief for my taste. I liked Tintagel and Shayleigh fine, but they were mostly there as props for Elbereth. I've decided Tintagel is my favorite, simply because he shilled Elbereth less, but that's not saying much.
Kierkan Rufo had, by far, the most compelling storyline. I was genuinely invested in seeing him wrestle with his fear and conscience. And I was really pleased when he came clean to the others. It was, therefore, absolutely bewildering that after that growth and development, he suddenly regressed to being a horrible coward in one chapter. As I said in the review, I guess Salvatore decided he made a better villain than antihero, but the shift felt very sudden. And it's a shame, because he was actually interesting.
So yeah. It's not the worst book I've read. I still prefer Cadderly to Drizzt as a lead character, but it wasn't a very enjoyable read either, and it's kind of killed a lot of my anticipation to see where the series goes from here.
It's disappointing, really. After a really strong start like Canticle, I had pretty high hopes for this book. But it really didn't deliver for me.
Plot:
The plot was fine, I suppose. Serviceable. We had recognizable stakes and a decent amount of excitement. But I spent most of my time wondering why I should care.
I mean, yes, of course, I want to see the invaders defeated and the innocent defenders win. But there were no real personal stakes involved in any of this. Cadderly, Danica, the dwarves, they could have been replaced by Drizzt, Wulfgar, and Bruenor and had the same emotional tie to Shillmista. Which is none.
And the one character who had an emotional tie to the events, the one who SHOULD have made us emotionally invested in the outcome, was too busy being a petty dick and a bully. Maybe a little reflection could have saved it - if Elbereth admitted that he was lashing out at the nearest target because he felt so powerless over what was happening with his home and people, it might have worked.
As it is, I didn't care as much as I should have. And I'm sad about that.
So let's talk about the Characters:
I liked Cadderly. I thought his post-Barjin trauma was really well-written. I like that he's overwhelmed and freaked out by the way his world has suddenly changed from a sheltered existence where he basically got to play the sitcom mischief maker to something more real and scary. I liked that he wanted to, and tried to, show mercy to even "monsters". And I dislike that the narrative seems to think he's in the wrong for that.
But the problem is, there's only so long you can watch a guy get kicked while he's down. We spent god knows how long watching him get bullied by Elbereth. His friends are completely unsupportive. He spends three quarters of the book feeling useless. And while he gets a few genuinely triumphant moments toward the end, we see them get immediately forgotten about.
He ends the book alone and honestly, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I'm not sure I want him to meet up with these assholes again.
As for the others, well...they're just awful.
I really liked Danica and Cadderly as a couple in Canticle. But here, Danica spends all her time feeling this battle kinship with Elbereth, which could be fine and compelling, if she wasn't watching Elbereth bully the guy she's supposed to be in love with, CONSTANTLY. What the fuck is that? She's also completely unsupportive whenever Cadderly has a crisis, and I'm supposed to buy them as lovers?
I'm not saying a girl can't have her own friends, or that she has to drop everything when her boyfriend needs her, but SOME kind of consideration is basic fucking courtesy. These two are supposed to be in love, and I barely get the sense that Danica even likes him. There's no indication at all of any kind of respect.
I talked about Elbereth. He's the worst. He had a moment of growth and then completely backslid. And poor Galladel was completely ineffectual in a transparent attempt to make Elbereth look better. I just feel really bad for the Shillmista elves, because we have seen Elbereth demonstrate exactly zero traits that would indicate he'd be a competent ruler.
The dwarves were fun, I guess, but a bit too prone to comic relief for my taste. I liked Tintagel and Shayleigh fine, but they were mostly there as props for Elbereth. I've decided Tintagel is my favorite, simply because he shilled Elbereth less, but that's not saying much.
Kierkan Rufo had, by far, the most compelling storyline. I was genuinely invested in seeing him wrestle with his fear and conscience. And I was really pleased when he came clean to the others. It was, therefore, absolutely bewildering that after that growth and development, he suddenly regressed to being a horrible coward in one chapter. As I said in the review, I guess Salvatore decided he made a better villain than antihero, but the shift felt very sudden. And it's a shame, because he was actually interesting.
So yeah. It's not the worst book I've read. I still prefer Cadderly to Drizzt as a lead character, but it wasn't a very enjoyable read either, and it's kind of killed a lot of my anticipation to see where the series goes from here.