Shadowdale (1989)

An okay read. It's primary defect is its lack of back story. Although Midnight's past is hinted at, Kelemvor, Cyric, and Adon's relationship is completely established at the opening of the book. It would have been great if Awlinson--a pseudonym for a group of writers--would have described the genesis of the three adventurer's relationship better. He does, however, utilize the mythology of Faerun well. The story is great, despite the fact that the reader has difficulty emotionally investing in the characters. The final battle of Shadowdale is awesome. The villain, Bane, is really cool, and his tactic for attempting to win the battle was extremely interesting. The ending is truly and undeniably contrived, however. It's definitely worth reading, because the sequel is awesome, and enjoying the sequel requires reading the first book. ( )

As a long time reader of really good fantasy, I have to say that Shadowdale (the first installment of The Avatar Trilogy) does not quite measure up to the expectations I held for it. The premise is brilliant - chaos reigns as the gods of the realms are thrust into human forms and wreak havoc among the mortals - but the construction of the book left much to be desired. The characters are all intriguing but the affinity felt for them is drawn more from their deeds than from their personalities as little depth is ever revealed about any of them. Adventure is the driving factor of the novel and it seems that the (overly cliche) dialog and world building were merely filler between the action sequences.

I almost think that this was a book written at a younger reading level and could actually recommend it to a middle or high school student breaking into the fantasy genre or anyone else looking for a fluff-read. For me, however, it was a little too bare bones. There is a cliff-hanger ending which combined with the promise of a new author* may prompt me to read the next books.

*Richard Awlinson is the pen name for the collaborative group that composed the trilogy and since my largest issue with this book was the writing style, I'd be willing to give the rest of the trilogy a fair chance. ( )