Not Exactly the Three Musketeers

Guardians of the Flame, Book 8

By: Joel Rosenberg

Narrated by: Keith Silverstein

Kethol - the pretty fellow, a long and lanky redhead with an easy smile and an easygoing attitude that his clever eyes deny. He is quick with a quick...and quicker with a sword.

Durine - the big man, a head taller than most and twice as wide, built like a barrel, with a loyal heart and hands too thick to use anything more delicate than an ax handle.

Pirojil - the ugly one, his face heavy-jawed, with an eye ridge that would mark him as a Neanderthal only to the most gracious. But looks deceive, and his might be the rarest gift of all.

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis they're not.

©1999 Joel Rosenberg (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

awesome

loved these books in my younger years when I had time to read. love that I can listen wile I work

Still good!

A little bit of a step down from the series norms focused on the 3 side characters introduced in the last couple books. Decent character development but just not as good without Rosenbergs mainstay characters you have grown to know and love. Only one new Slovotsky law in this one...

A step down

I like the series, having first read the books in the 1980s. The original characters were enjoyable, especially being a D&D aficionado who could appreciate the premise of the first books.

However, this book loses a step as it deals with secondary characters. That's understandable, as the series has "aged out" the original characters. (I think the author made a mistake with that, as there were still original characters with stories to tell.)

The plot takes a long, long time to develop and we're never quite sure what's going on until the very end. In addition, a possible plot line, a potential romance between two of the characters, is never explored. The ending is a bit rushed, too. It could have been an exciting climax with an interesting twist or two, but the climax is premature, if you will, and we're left unsatisfied.

If you are a collector of sets, go ahead and get this book. But if you don't care about that, you can safely skip this one.

Solid Swords & Sorcery

Starting before the end of Book 7 of the series, this book follows the escapades of three former companions of Karl Cullinane on a mission from the mother of the Emperor.

Pirojil, Kethol, and Durine are all natives of This Side, which is a step away from the focus on the original adventuring party from Earth. Surprisingly (for me, at least), this works better for the story than the focus on Walter Slovotsky or Jason Cullinane in the previous books.

Rather than trying to extend a story that Rosenberg seemed to have lost interest in, this is relatively straight adventure fantasy/swords & sorcery.

The main characters have enough individual personality that they're easy to differentiate, and their various skills work well in this form of story. The narrative flows well, the challenges are interesting (especially without the ability to directly call on the prestige of Home), and the resolution of the story works.

While this book still isn't as strong as the first books in the series, I do recommend it.