Azure Bonds (Forgotten Realms)

2.5/5. This one started out pretty well, I liked the initial set-up and the characters, but somewhere after the halfway mark, the story became too nonsensical for my liking. The characters had some great moments together, but lacked development overall. I couldn't care less for the antagonist(s) and there were too many plot-twists and revelations towards the end, for me to keep my interest up.

One of the best of the Forgotten Realms (AD&D) novels. Alias, a swordswoman, wakes up one morning with no knowledge of how she got some strange tattoos. Finding out what they are and how she got them is an epic quest that is very well written.

One of the better Forgotten Realms novels, with a very interesting and diverse cast of characters, well fleshed out. The best complement I can give a book is that it left me wanting to read more about these characters.

Okay, here is a half decent novel based in a Dungeons and Dragons world. Unlike some other books that will never be mentioned again, the computer game was based on the book rather than the other way around. However, once again, as the TSR money making machine churned on, two more books were released to turn it into a trilogy. Somehow I find some trilogies to be pretty poor, especially since the original book is written as a stand alone and due to its success the authors decide to throw something more into the mix. Works the same with movies to, and like movies, a successful trilogy can easily turn into a franchise. However, with this book, the franchise already exists.
The story is about a woman named Alias who awakens one morning to show more find that she has lost a lot of her memory from the night before and finds that there is an intricate tattoo on her arm (I wonder how many people can relate to that experience). She (like the said people previously mentioned) thought that she had a crazy night out and while drunk, decided to get the tattoo. However, as it turns out, these tattoos don't want to be removed (though I was going to raise the question of how one actually removes a tattoo in a medieval world, but it is also a fantasy world, so such things can be done). She also discovers that these tattoos exert power over her and compel her to do some pretty bad things.
In an attempt to discover the source of these tattoos she joins up with a mysterious Lizardine creature named Dragonbait, a mysterious southern mage named Ahkbar Bel Akash, and a halfling named Olive Ruskettle. Also popping in and out is a foppish minor noble named Giorgi Wyvernspur. Together they head off to find the source of these tattoos and the mystery behind Alias (and also an attempt to discover who or what Dragonbait is, and why he smells so much – it turns out that that is how he communicates).
This was a pretty enjoyable book, from what I can remember, and one of the better books coming from the franchise. Okay, as a teenager I did think that Alias was hot, but then I grew up and realised that she was basically a picture and something from somebody's imagination. Okay, the cover drawing was nice, but we then find out in the book that when she was made to wear that armour, she simply shook her head and wondered how it was supposed to protect her (it was ceremonial, so it wasn't). I could go further into details about freedom and choice as it arises in this book, but I won't. It is a Dungeons and Dragons book and it not meant to be taken seriously. show less

A decent book that reads like an actual playable Dungeons and Dragons adventure. It was after all one of the original D&D computer game that was released eons ago.

Loved this book - excited about the series.