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Greyhawk Adventures #5
The Demon Hand
Greyhawk...
In search of the gemstones, deep in the salt caverns of the island of Dramidja...
The wolf-shaman Mika, the enchanted princess, the faithful TamTur and the brave companions, all frozen in time...
Meanwhile...a certain little harpy and two intrepid werewolves join together in a quest to uncover the secret of tehir heritage, and to break the curse of the kingdom...
Return to the land of Greyhawk, where the demon Maelfesh is up to his usual unusual mischief, where magic abides and danger rules, where the beleaguered Wolf Nomad Mika must defeat yet another incredible array of other-worldly sinister forces--the deep-dwelling cavernquatch, the granite moles, the rock beasites and more...
Rose Estes is the creator of the classic ENDLESS QUEST series of interactive novels published by TSR, and the author of the previous best-selling GREYHAWK Adventures of Mika, shaman of the Wolf Nomads.
In search of the gemstones, deep in the salt caverns of the island of Dramidja...
The wolf-shaman Mika, the enchanted princess, the faithful TamTur and the brave companions, all frozen in time...
Meanwhile...a certain little harpy and two intrepid werewolves join together in a quest to uncover the secret of tehir heritage, and to break the curse of the kingdom...
Return to the land of Greyhawk, where the demon Maelfesh is up to his usual unusual mischief, where magic abides and danger rules, where the beleaguered Wolf Nomad Mika must defeat yet another incredible array of other-worldly sinister forces--the deep-dwelling cavernquatch, the granite moles, the rock beasites and more...
Rose Estes is the creator of the classic ENDLESS QUEST series of interactive novels published by TSR, and the author of the previous best-selling GREYHAWK Adventures of Mika, shaman of the Wolf Nomads.
314 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1988
2 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
Rose Estes
51 books57 followersRose Estes is the author of many fantasy and science fiction books, including full length novels and multiple choice gamebooks. After contributing extensively to TSR, Inc.'s Dungeons and Dragons Endless Quest series (of which she wrote the first six, as well as others later down the line), she wrote her first full length novel, Children of the Dragon (1985). She continued to write for TSR by writing six volumes in a series of Greyhawk novels. She contributed to other series, but continued to write books and start series of her own that, like Children of the Dragon, take place in a fantasy or science fiction world created by her own imagination. She also wrote the Golden Book Music Video Sing, Giggle and Grin.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 22, 2021
Unlike the previous two books in this series (Master Wolf, The Price of Power), The Demon Hand is a decent adventure which focuses primarily on the children of the protagonists in the first two books. The Half-Harpy Chewppa (daughter of Mika and a harpy) and the Were-Wolf TamSen (Son of Princess Julia as a wolf and Mika's wolf TamTam) are joined by fate and follow the trail of their parents into the gem mines below the devastated capital of Dramidja in an effort to find their parents who have been missing for almost 20 years. They encounter all manners of beasts and creatures in the mines and finally ally themselves with a race of dwarves cursed by Maelfesh, the demon antagonist from the earlier books.
I rated this book as a 3 but would put this more towards the 2.75. Its a significant improvement over the previous entries. The book is a little more straight forward than previous entries, with a dungeon crawl culminating in an epic battle. The characters of Chewppa and TamSen are more interesting and multi-dimensional than than their parents who, once found, continue to be one dimensional in their actions and motivations. Even the ancillary characters have more substance to them than the characters in the first two books. The book does suffer from some of the 'fourth wall breaking' issues that has plagued the series with references to Spell Levels and the like. The book also takes things previous established (specifically the gender importance of the power stones) and discards them out of hand. While I think the book wraps up the story lines of all the main characters in a satisfactory way (Note: This makes me VERY VERY concerned that the next two book are going to return to the super-poor quality of the first two books), it teases the return of TamSen's sister at the head of an invading army, which I would be very interested in reading.
One problem previously seen in the previous books was almost non-existent in this version. Sex, specifically rape and bestiality, were present in the first two novels and, ironically, resulted in the characters of Chewppa and TamSen which are the protagonists of this book. In The Demon Hand this is not the case. Sex occurs but is consensual and actually out of love. The only bit that continues to paint the cringe-worthy nature of the characters is when Mika evaluates the physical assets of Chewppa, prior to knowing she is his daughter.
While not a must read by any means, its a decent book.
I rated this book as a 3 but would put this more towards the 2.75. Its a significant improvement over the previous entries. The book is a little more straight forward than previous entries, with a dungeon crawl culminating in an epic battle. The characters of Chewppa and TamSen are more interesting and multi-dimensional than than their parents who, once found, continue to be one dimensional in their actions and motivations. Even the ancillary characters have more substance to them than the characters in the first two books. The book does suffer from some of the 'fourth wall breaking' issues that has plagued the series with references to Spell Levels and the like. The book also takes things previous established (specifically the gender importance of the power stones) and discards them out of hand. While I think the book wraps up the story lines of all the main characters in a satisfactory way (Note: This makes me VERY VERY concerned that the next two book are going to return to the super-poor quality of the first two books), it teases the return of TamSen's sister at the head of an invading army, which I would be very interested in reading.
One problem previously seen in the previous books was almost non-existent in this version. Sex, specifically rape and bestiality, were present in the first two novels and, ironically, resulted in the characters of Chewppa and TamSen which are the protagonists of this book. In The Demon Hand this is not the case. Sex occurs but is consensual and actually out of love. The only bit that continues to paint the cringe-worthy nature of the characters is when Mika evaluates the physical assets of Chewppa, prior to knowing she is his daughter.
While not a must read by any means, its a decent book.
July 24, 2014
Not much to see here
1 January 2013
I reckon I have read this book namely because it is a book set in the Dungeons and Dragons world of Greyhawk and back in my teenage years I would pretty much read anything that was published under the banner of TSR. I suspect it had something to do with the fact that I could not get enough of roleplaying games and the next best thing to actually playing a game was to read a book that was based upon the game (though there was always computer games, but they were pretty primitive, and expensive, back then). However, I cannot remember anything about this book, which goes to show how much impact it had upon me. In fact I remember more about Old Man and the Sea than I do about half of these fantasy/sci-fi books that I read, and I thought Old Man and the Sea was silly because all it was about was how a man went out in a boat and caught a fish (though I do plan on reading it again when I find it, if only so I can say 'yes, it is about a man who goes fishing').
It seems though that this book says that Rose Estes could actually write more than simple adventure game books, and that people beyond Gary Gygax were allowed to write about the World of Greyhawk. That is quite generous of Gary, since there are people out there (George Lucas) who have such a tight control on their creations that anything that is published has to be okayed by them first. Anyway I suspect that when Gygax left TSR he would have surrendered all of his rights to the World of Greyhawk anyway, simply because TSR (in its various later forms) have continued to produce products set there (though as it turns out, he didn't because they then shifted to The Forgotten Realms). Hey, even Gygax, after leaving TSR, continued to produce works set in this world.
1 January 2013
I reckon I have read this book namely because it is a book set in the Dungeons and Dragons world of Greyhawk and back in my teenage years I would pretty much read anything that was published under the banner of TSR. I suspect it had something to do with the fact that I could not get enough of roleplaying games and the next best thing to actually playing a game was to read a book that was based upon the game (though there was always computer games, but they were pretty primitive, and expensive, back then). However, I cannot remember anything about this book, which goes to show how much impact it had upon me. In fact I remember more about Old Man and the Sea than I do about half of these fantasy/sci-fi books that I read, and I thought Old Man and the Sea was silly because all it was about was how a man went out in a boat and caught a fish (though I do plan on reading it again when I find it, if only so I can say 'yes, it is about a man who goes fishing').
It seems though that this book says that Rose Estes could actually write more than simple adventure game books, and that people beyond Gary Gygax were allowed to write about the World of Greyhawk. That is quite generous of Gary, since there are people out there (George Lucas) who have such a tight control on their creations that anything that is published has to be okayed by them first. Anyway I suspect that when Gygax left TSR he would have surrendered all of his rights to the World of Greyhawk anyway, simply because TSR (in its various later forms) have continued to produce products set there (though as it turns out, he didn't because they then shifted to The Forgotten Realms). Hey, even Gygax, after leaving TSR, continued to produce works set in this world.
August 5, 2019
Set twenty years after the events of the first two books, and focusing on a new group of characters that are related to the previous protagonists, this story wraps up the plans of the demon Maelfesh. I suppose I use the world "plans" here a little loosely though. Again, nostalgia plays a large role in my rating here, but that said, it's not a bad reading experience.
The same writing issues that haunt the previous books come into play here - character development, pacing, and so on - but if you've made it this far, then clearly those flaws aren't insurmountable. Where this book does deserve credit though, is how it ties together all the plot threads, hints and ideas from the first two stories: the island kingdom of Dramidja, its contract with both the Dwarves and the demon Maelfesh, the "female" and "male" magic stones, the next generation of characters, and so on. Also to the book's credit, it does an admirable job of giving the impression that there's far more to the world of Greyhawk than this one story tells. This is particularly evident at the end. The approach this book takes in that regard can often be a tricky one. Wrapping up the current story in as satisfying a way as it can, while presenting threads and hints for further adventures without leaving the reader feeling cheated out of anything. Whether that satisfaction is due more to the lack of character development leaving you feeling uninvested in the characters in the first place, or in the author's skill at writing the ending..... Well, I'll leave that up to you. I can see arguments being made for either.
All in all, it's as solid of an ending to this trilogy as can be hoped for, and it was an enjoyable - if not legendary - series, all in all.
The same writing issues that haunt the previous books come into play here - character development, pacing, and so on - but if you've made it this far, then clearly those flaws aren't insurmountable. Where this book does deserve credit though, is how it ties together all the plot threads, hints and ideas from the first two stories: the island kingdom of Dramidja, its contract with both the Dwarves and the demon Maelfesh, the "female" and "male" magic stones, the next generation of characters, and so on. Also to the book's credit, it does an admirable job of giving the impression that there's far more to the world of Greyhawk than this one story tells. This is particularly evident at the end. The approach this book takes in that regard can often be a tricky one. Wrapping up the current story in as satisfying a way as it can, while presenting threads and hints for further adventures without leaving the reader feeling cheated out of anything. Whether that satisfaction is due more to the lack of character development leaving you feeling uninvested in the characters in the first place, or in the author's skill at writing the ending..... Well, I'll leave that up to you. I can see arguments being made for either.
All in all, it's as solid of an ending to this trilogy as can be hoped for, and it was an enjoyable - if not legendary - series, all in all.
May 24, 2019
As D&D novels go, the Greyhawk series was never as popular as the Forgotten Realms with the Drizzt stories or the Dragonlance chronicles. Although Greyhawk is actually the original setting of D&D, D&D Vanilla if you will, it never captured the imagination like those other universes did. That being said, this is a really cool novel actually.
For the last few books set in this universe we've followed Mika who is a kind of Warrior-Shaman of a wolf themed clan and his companions which include a princess turned into a wolf by magic. Ok. So now I open this book and resume the adventures of Mika... up until about a third into the book where the whole party of heroes gets stuck inside a column in a cave for 20 years.
Yes, they get completely out of the main plot, and we now follow attempts to save them by their then infant children which are now around 20 years old. Oh and those children are a half-human, half-harpy, product of Mika being raped by a harpy; and a half-wolf, half-enchanted wolf princess man, product of sex between two wolves, one of which is actually an enchanted princess. Makes sense? It actually does, just not when explaining it. The whole thing becomes an underground adventure 20 years later with Dwarves and Trolls and demon people, and it's a riot. Not great literature, but at times so weird, as you slowly see the harpy and werewolf falling in love, that it feels original. Great fun.
December 15, 2023
Read/skimmed it
A mixture of Dnd and other things, overall not very entertained. I wish I could say I was; almost pornographic at times, certainly more sexuality than needed.
In the end, all the plot threads were tied up.
Overall, I would not read it again, and will not be reading more books in this series, after reading this and one other one (Eyes Have it) that were gifts. I will try books written by Gary Gygax himself, provided I am able to obtain them.
A mixture of Dnd and other things, overall not very entertained. I wish I could say I was; almost pornographic at times, certainly more sexuality than needed.
In the end, all the plot threads were tied up.
Overall, I would not read it again, and will not be reading more books in this series, after reading this and one other one (Eyes Have it) that were gifts. I will try books written by Gary Gygax himself, provided I am able to obtain them.
November 21, 2018
Right about here it looks like the story arc is starting to mature. We'll see.
August 31, 2020
I shouldn’t have waited so long to read this. I think I would have enjoyed this if I read it in high school.
October 22, 2016
A man who owes everything to a terrible demon, who's sole goal is finding his friends and reuniting with his family. Lost to a prison of time for years faced with the possibility that there will be nothing left of the life he once knew, yet knowing that it was only through that life that he would be able to move forward. Finding the power and resolve to move on despite the fact that the years that he's been imprisoned trapped within Time itself has changed the world around him in more ways then he could ever guess and has also changed him in ways he could never guess or expect. Travel with this wolf nomad as he seeks his companions and seeks to fix what only he has the power to fix. Cursed with a demons hand for betraying a terrible demon and yet ironically only alive thanks to that Cursed hand of his. Travel with him as he deals with the consequences of his own past while trying to pave a new future. Join him as he fights through one situation to another attempting to survive, because sometimes surviving is all you can do.
August 4, 2020
Alas, drivel.
Supposedly a Dungeons and Dragons book based in the Greyhawk setting but we have:
1. References to an island that isn’t in any gazetteer
2. A demon nobody has heard of (and is unchallenged by any established demon).
3. A demon who can ruin worlds with the wave of his hand, which doesn’t happen.
4. A dwarf wizard, which is impossible (in that time/setting).
5. A heap of subterranean creatures that have never been referenced.
6. Wizards casting healing spells.
7. Permanent Polymorph spells that seem to affect DNA.
The list goes on.
If it is a D&D book, it really ought to have made some attempt to use recognisable mechanics, spells, items and beings.
Supposedly a Dungeons and Dragons book based in the Greyhawk setting but we have:
1. References to an island that isn’t in any gazetteer
2. A demon nobody has heard of (and is unchallenged by any established demon).
3. A demon who can ruin worlds with the wave of his hand, which doesn’t happen.
4. A dwarf wizard, which is impossible (in that time/setting).
5. A heap of subterranean creatures that have never been referenced.
6. Wizards casting healing spells.
7. Permanent Polymorph spells that seem to affect DNA.
The list goes on.
If it is a D&D book, it really ought to have made some attempt to use recognisable mechanics, spells, items and beings.
October 17, 2013
Mika, the main character from the preceding two books in the series, takes a back seat this time because of his imprisonment in the magical pillar. Instead his half-harpy daughter and princess Julia's half wolves son go on an adventure to free the parents. Throw in a demon, several demi-demons, a thousand dwarves, and a bunch of island trolls and you have a nice soup of characters that come together well.
February 10, 2016
Good fantasy story based on the D&D world. Written by the creator of D&D . Recommended
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews