Tangled Webs

Starlight & Shadows #2

by Elaine Cunningham

Danger and high-seas adventure await Liriel Baenre on the surface in this second installment of the Starlight & Shadows trilogy Exiled from her home for acquiring the Windwalker amulet, the beautiful dark elf Liriel Baenre wanders to the surface world, accompanied by her companion Fyodor. But even far from the dark haunts of Menzoberranzan, she is not safe from the vengeance of her arch-enemy, fellow drow elf Shakti Hunzrin. As she and her friend sail the dangerous seas of the Sword Coast, the drow priestess plots a terrible fate for them. Meanwhile, in the dark depths of the earth, the spider queen Lolth weaves her own webs of terror and treachery . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Forgotten Realms, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Magic

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.


Elaine Cunningham is an American fantasy author.

Reviews

[The Shayne-Train · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoo-wee this is an entertaining series!

This book showcases a lot of the under-the-sea races of Forgotten Realms. (Because apparently it's bettah, down where it's wettah.) These are creatures and cultures I haven't seen much in my Realms-readin', and I really enjoyed the look into this new world. (NOT a whole new world.)

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I wish I had the original 1996 edition with this amazing cover art:



This is the best Forgotten Realms novel I've read in years. Thank goodness, because this ill-conceived plan of mine to read them all in publication order has been a roc around my neck for some time. I'm still reading them up to publication year 2000, but it's going to take a while. I can only tolerate maybe 4-5 of them a year, and I've still got 30 novels, 3 anthologies, one collection, plus a 9-part serial to bring me to the end of 1999's books. Onward!

The last FR book I gave 4 stars to was James Lowder's Prince of Lies, fitting because Lowder is thanked most effusively in this book's acknowledgements for his guidance as Cunningham developed as a writer. I've heard that she's perhaps the most respected author in this line of books after R.A. Salvatore, and although a couple of her past books left me wanting I now see the appeal.

Still, Tangled Webs gets a hesitant 4 stars from me, mostly because of the final ~40 pages. Prior to that, it was mostly good news: a robust if slightly convoluted development of the central plot, acceptable character development, entertaining if occasionally silly action sequences, scenes that never overstayed their welcome, and enjoyable prose. There's a moderate argument for Mary Sues, but I never really felt that way despite how the main characters overcome all obtacles with relative ease. At least the solutions were creative and grounded in the characters. And overpowered characters seems to be the trend in the most popular Forgotten Realms books; see every Drizzt novel. This is meant to be pop heroic fantasy.

Some scenes or plot developments felt plopped in out of nowhere, like the off-screen death of a major character. To me this suggested some editing struggles, like scenes were not ideally rearranged or were cut for space (and the book definitely runs long for this line). But those last several chapters, the entire final sequence, it jumped the sahuagin, screwed the kelpie, lost the weave. Multiple long-awaited confrontations were utter disappointments, essentially hand-waved away. I accept that these poor solutions fed into the purported primarily conflict and theme of the book, that of Liriel drawing on an evil source to accomplish good and the associated costs of this, but even that issue was dispensed of with unfitting ease. There was distinct lack of drama and sustained tension in these final parts; a rush to the end at the cost of emotional payoffs.

Still the best of the prior 25 novels. By Mystra, what the Abyss am I doing to myself?

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't judge me but initially I was semi-enjoying the kitsch of this. In my early 20s I hung around mainly with Dungeons and Dragons players and this book is like their way of thinking complete with purple prose, a very serious tone, moral incoherence and every damn species from the Monstrous Manual. For a book with so many significant female characters I am not sure it passes the Bechdel test which is irritating. Even though Lirael has all this power and all this ambivalence and thirst for power and is so intelligent, overemphasised in the first half of the book is that she is so pretty and every male character has lust issues with her.

Then she somehow manages to manipulate an evil goddess (yeah right) without becoming evil but she is not so good at boundaries with a really tediously masculine character who of course becomes not just her love interest but begins to define her as the book goes on. And they live heterosexually ever after, with the petite girl giving up her lust for power and nestled in the arms of the ever-faithful and strong humungous male. Unless he dies in battle of course. It's all too much to even feel the emotions the author wants us to feel (but to be fair in 1998 when this was written I might have).

That said I know that a lot of people will enjoy the drow, sea elves, ilithid, aboleth, various elementals, berserkers, shape-shifters, merrow, kelpies et al and I have to admit the author knows her monsters really well and sketches them with many convincing details (ie they are not just humans in different masks. She also writes battles well (albeit gruesomely with plenty of slippery blood, guts and loose body parts).

So...I suspect someone would still enjoy this. I say lose the romance.

[Espresso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful story written by Cunningham. The story is moving along at a grand pace and soon the reader finds themselves tangled in the webs of the story and waiting for the spider to bite!

I loved it and begged for more.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tangled Webs by Elaine Cunningham- This is the second book in the Starlight & Shadows trilogy. The first being Daughter of the Drow and the last being Windwalker. The events in this book take place directly after Daughter of the Drow.

The story continues with the young drow wizard Liriel Baenre and her quest to crave a rune of power to keep her wizardly powers on the surface, along with helping her partner and friend, Fyodor of Rashemen, control his uncontrolled berserker outbreaks. In order to crave this rune, Liriel and Fyodor have to travel to the island of Ruathym to find a tree called Yggsdrasil's Child, which is where these runes of magic needs to be craved into. Liriel helps break out a pirate captain named Hrolf the Unruly, who is allowing Liriel and Fyodor travel to Ruathym. During the trip, Liriel comes across many odd things, the first being her first encounter with a surface elf, a sea elf named Xzorsh. While plans brew from the port city called Luskan, an old enemy of Liriel, and the once thought to be lost Ascarle to conquer the island of Ruathym, Liriel and Fyodor are the only ones that can stop it.

Negatives:
1) Luskan. From what I know of Luskan, it's a sailing city in the north of Faerûn, and is strictly controlled by a mage guild called the Hosttower of the Arcane and a council of captains called the High Captains. What bothered me was the utter "throwing out" of the magic element that the city has and is known for. Elaine Cunningham paints the city as a barbarian place were everyone fears magic and that the people of the city are all warriors. Which, in my mind, isn't what Luskan is at all. This just really bothered me more than anything really. You have so many stories that take place in the city, yet it seemed like she didn't even consider them or the information about the city. However, I guess the story wouldn't have really worked if it was another way. But still, it just doesn't seem right or even close to what the city really is.
2) Lackluster Villains. First you have a high captain of Luskan named Rethnor, then you have Shakti (Liriel's old nemesis from Menzoberranzan ), and finally an illithid named Vestress. So you maybe thinking that Shakti and Vestress are more than worthy foes for Liriel, and I wouldn't blame you. But alas, they're not. First Rethnor seemed to be a really good enemy to Fyodor, but nope... he's just a pawn and is really used as one. He just wasn't used the way he should have been. Shakti was a decent villain in Daughter of the Drow but here, she is just there. It's like you know she is right there, but she just comes off as weak and underused. Then the illithid, which you would think is the deadliest of the bunch is just really a pathetic villain to say the least. The illithid would have been a really good main villain, but like all main villains in the story, it's really, horribly underused.
3) Anti-climatic Final Battles. Going hand and hand with the villains are their final battles. They are short, fast, and just simple. Each one lasts maybe a half a page to a page and a half, it just doesn't work. Especially when you have all this wonderful build-up only to get let down. And it seemed like the main characters who should be fighting this villains, should be the ones to take them down, right? Nope. Only one fight (if you could call it that) was started and finished by a main character. But it didn't even seem like a battle, so I'm really hesitant in even say that. Yes, the battles did finish in some way or form, but the execution was just awful. They all ended with some random person stopping it. And I'm not giving away anything about that.

Positives:
1) Liriel. I liked her character in Daughter of the Drow and I like her even more in this story. She continues to struggle with what friendship and love are but I thought it was in better detail and in closer introspection. Then you have her struggle against the promise of power with Lloth (or Lolth, the spelling varies once in a while). The struggle I thought was wonderfully done and finished equally perfect. I think the reason I like Liriel is for her consistent struggle on how drow are so vastly different from the surface races and how she approaches this. With the famous Drizzt Do'Urden (the only other known drow on the surface) you didn't get this much conflict and introspection as you do with Liriel. It it makes it a little more interesting.
2) Twists. Now this will be a short explanation as why I liked the twists, because well if I say too much, it would ruin them. So basically, two people are not what they seem. You have an idea of who these people are, yet you are pretty much blown out of the water when you find out the truth. While they aren't "main characters" these two are so embedded within the story that you gradually forget about them yet you still are, every now and then, reminded by their presence that when the twist comes, you start to look back on what you knew about this characters and it becomes so readily apparent.
3) Xzorsh. While not a main character, more like a side character, I just really enjoyed him. His utter fascination with magic that the sea elves are unable to wield and his unbelievably naïve personality was what I liked about the character. I would have assumed that any surface/ water-dwelling elf would have attacked a drow at first sight, yet his strange fascination and curiosity with Liriel was just interesting. I don't know what else to say really. He was like a little child, who always asks questions and keeps on asking them. Plus, I have a weird fascination with sea elves. You don't have many stories that feature one, and I really enjoy reading about them.

Side notes:
1) You might be wondering why I haven't said much about Fyodor in either review (Daughter of the Drow and this one). Well, the answer is simple. At times he was a compelling character, and at others, I had this overwhelming sense of "meh" about him. I do enjoy his little philosophical musings but all in all, he is just average.
2) What's up with all the convenient ways to solve problems? In both stories, there were these utterly out of the blue solutions and it just really didn't make sense. You have all this wonderful build up and it just doesn't pan out the way you would assume it would, and in most cases the way it ended was just dumb and lazy.
3) The cover art on this book is so much better than the previous. I know the artist, Todd Lockwood, is a great artist with doing the Drizzt saga (the newer versions) and Daughter of the Drow cover was just looked wrong. However, the side profile of Liriel on this cover of this matches what I thought she would look like. I just hope that Windwalker keeps this loo- OH GOD! MY EYES! THEY BURN!

Overall: 4/5

Final thoughts:
While I enjoyed parts and most of the characters of this story, there were many things that really brought this down. I mentioned the lackluster villains and final battles, but there were more. For example, all the creatures mentioned that would be moving the story along didn't feel right. But in truth, this was a decent second entry into the trilogy and definitely worthy of a read.

[Benjamin Hesdorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that's one way to write a fantasy novel. I'm impressed by Cunningham's imagination, but at times the novel got a little to dull for my tastes, but all in all, I'd say this book is a good read, so 4/5.

[Stacey Lebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally have very positive things to say about Elaine Cunningham’s literature, and Tangled Webs is no exception. And, no, this isn’t because of “fanboyism”, or whatever one might call it. There is a reason that Elaine’s novels are almost universally regarded as the cream of the crop of Forgotten Realms literature.

Before even getting to the actual story, or the actual characters, I want to talk about concept. Tangled Webs, if we need to break things down into pseudo-Greek terms, consists of ‘Water’ and ‘Darkness’. Ordinarily, I don’t think that I would have though to combine ‘Water’ and ‘Darkness’. Normally, when I think of Elemental Water, in either Classical Greek terms, or in mainstream video game terms, I think healing, which is about as opposite that you can get from ‘Darkness’, which normally entails ‘Evil’, which entails ‘Pain’, all of which isn’t good. There’s something about the book that just works, though. I don’t know how to explain it. The themes of ‘Water’ and ‘Darkness’ blend nicely. It might be the concept of the ‘threat from the sea’ that makes it work. It might be the concept of water-themed intrigue under the cover of darkness that makes it work. Maybe it’s my subconscious, doting on the favorable images I have of the cartoon ‘Pirates of the Dark Water’. Regardless, whatever it is that makes it work, it makes it work.

Now for the characters. Before I get to pre-established characters, like Liriel, or Shakti, I want to talk about some of the new characters. Primary among them are Xzorsh and Ibn. Xzorsh was a great character, very refreshing. While I wouldn’t say that Xzorsh is my favorite character in the setting, I’d say that he’s in the Top Ten. Hell, I liked him enough to include in Elves of Faerûn Xzorsh’s mechanical write-up for an example of an Aquatic Elven NPC. I think it’s his naivety that endears him to me. He’s a capable warrior, as his position and deeds demonstrate. But, he’s perfectly willing to accept Liriel as who she says she is, at face value, is perfectly willing to accept his Malenti companion, Sittl, as who he says he is, at face value, is perfectly willing to accept the pirates of the Seasprite[i/], based on his pledged, and the deeds of Captain Hrolf. His type of personality- curious and innocent- is refreshing to see in a character. First mate Ibn, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of Xzorsh, in a way. He is suspicious to the maximum, unwilling to accept Liriel, Xzorsh, and others, even after they prove themselves time and time again. His continual sparring with Liriel, both literally, figuratively, verbally, and physically was a fun theme constant in most of the novel. Oftentimes I was left wondering if Ibn was being loyal to Captain Hrulf, concerning the presence of Liriel, or if he was letting his irrational hate and fear of the Drow get in the way of his friendship with the captain, and his duties as first mate of the ship.

In Tangled Webs, the bad blood concerning Shakti and Liriel all came to its head. The relationship between Liriel and Fyodor reached its blossom. In theory, Tangled Webs could be the final installment of the series, and I’d be happy. Windwalker, of course, came out, and wrapped everything up in a smooth bundle (mostly), but if that book had never come out, I wouldn’t be sitting here bemoaning the lack of an ending point, for the characters, and the plot.

The part I disliked most about the novel involved Ventress, the ruins of Ascore, and Ventress’ “pet” Aboleth. As mentioned elsewhere, the entire “Aberrationization” and “Far Realmsization” of the Aboleth race becomes “at odds” with home Ventress’ Aboleth is portrayed. I think Elaine dropped the ball on that creature, though. Even before the…’momentum’ behind Aboleth was changed, they were portrayed as much more sentient than the one in the novel was. Being a fan of Aboleth, I didn’t like it’s portrayal. It felt too…off. Come to think of it, the same thing with Ventress. While Illithid don’t have genders, and it was interesting for Elaine to pass Ventress off as having a female personality, I don’t think it really worked all that well. Rather than exhibiting male characteristics, I tend to think of Illithid displaying no gender characteristics.

[Eugene Gorodinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blegh... The aftertaste this book left is awfully cheesy and I hate cheese. Much worse than the first book, it seems whatever actions the author could not explain logically she explained "instinctively". The word is quite prominent in the book. Also the book paints a very blurry picture of evil. Like a five year old without much in the way of motor skills. I understand DnD has a very rigid way of grouping all races into one of several groups like "chaotic evil" or "lawful neutral", but honestly for a drow Liriel is rather... mellow. In fact she's more of a drow in the first book than she is in the second, the whole journey making her more "human" which is too common a trope to make the reading interesting. Also the evil presented in this book is kind of flat - as if it's a concept so obviously simple that the reader should waste no time or brainpower in considering it (yet Liriel's whole journey in this book is about learning good and evil and ultimately making a choice between the two). So. Three stars and no more, especially since I could barely make myself read the last two pages.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The further adventures of Liriel an Fyodor continue in the 2nd book of the series. The growth of each character continues with Liriel making her rune in the Yggsdrasil's Child tree and Fyodor resists the temptation to sleep with Dagmar since he is loyal to Liriel. Not to say that the power couple goes through their share of ups and downs in this book.
Cunningham introduces many characters into this book and storyline from fatherly-like pirate Hrolf to the Luskan pirate rogue Rethnor. And interestingly enough a female mind flayer known as Vestress.
Refreshingly enough both Rethnor and Vestress live to fight another day.
Cunningham also brings in sea elves and the always mysterious Tritons as well. The book has a lot of seafaring scenes in it which is also a bright spot.
I imagine this is an editorial issue, but the fight between Liriel and the banshee takes place without any write up in the book between chapters 22 and 23. I found this a bit disappointing in that I think it would have made for a great read.

[Ugur]

Tangled Webs is the second book of Starlight & Shadows series, which was written by Elaine Cunningham in 1996.

I’m currently reading Starlight & Shadows series and it is like reading Wizards of The Coast’s Monstrous Manual book. There are lots of creatures, despite having a characterization for this creatures mostly there is only a definition for them. Most of the creatures are sea creatures.

It’s difficult to follow the plot, each sub plot is starting and finishing without giving details. I could not differentiate the characters from one another. Also character names are difficult to memorize.

I definitely continue to read the next and final book in the series, but probably will not enjoy.

[Tokio Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Daughter of the Drow or Elaine Cuningham's other books, but it was decent. Liriel Baenre is still getting into trouble with her friend/lover Fyodor. This time they are on a ship with some pirates and are fighting a few kracken. A normal days work for a Baenre.

What I really love about this series is the fact that Liriel isn't necessarily good. Yes she protects her friends and what not but, she still steals, has no problem with killing, and is a trouble maker. I don't like it when forgotten realms writers make drow nice caring elves. Yes, Drizzit is the shit but he's an oddity and a freak by drow terms (and mine). Not every drow can be Drizzit so stop trying. I know in the third book her trouble making ways stop so I think I'm going to stop the series here.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good continuation of the personal quests of Liriel and Fyodor. The new set of supporting casts and villains are also rather unique and quite interesting. The story sees quite a bit of growth from both the main characters, and Liriel even has a crisis of faith. Liriel's drow character is also very believable, the way she thinks and acts is superbly yet subtly tied back to her upbringing and her people. The growing love between the two characters of such differing background was also well-written, it highlights their trepidations and their fears, while still acknowledging their bond. The conclusion was very satisfying and has a nice short section that ties into the third book.

[lyn straine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think what I like most about these books is that, even though things turn out all right in the end, actions have consequences and the main characters suffer. Change in fiction arrives through suffering, and while trials and tribulations are the stuff of many dungeon-crawling fantasy novels, the characters rarely actually truly ENDURE anything beyond some close physical scrapes. Liriel goes through a lot of inner torment to try to find her place in the world, and it's compelling. Or, at least, it was to me.

[Lenakoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich fand diesen Band nicht ganz so gut wie den letzten.
Die Geschichte ist eher eine Reise mit ein wenig Mystery. Es werden viele neue Charaktere eingeführt. Zusätzlich tauchen auch noch alte Charaktere auf und es gibt sehr viele Twists in der Geschichte und die Bösewichte wechseln häufig.

Die Entwicklung der Hauptfigur fand ich aber sehr interessant und ich bin gespannt wie es im nächsten Band weiter geht.

[Jay Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of the romantic hero, mixed with great D&D fantasy story. So addicted to forgotten realms books, especially dealing with drow :O

[David Justiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

better than I expected

[Maritza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just like reading this book

[Alberto Amatong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had some conflicting feelings about the story in this one. It was very good as a sequel, showing us some amazing development of both Lierel and Fyodor as individuals, friends, and players in the larger world. I also appreciated the greater world building for the larger forgotten realms setting that it provided, and several of the chapters were engrossing in the way I've come to expect from Cunningham: vivid descriptions of the scenery and flowing prose that breathes life and song into the characters actions. All of that said, I felt that the stakes were pretty low here and nothing much notable happened apart from character development.

Don't get me wrong, the character development is on point. Every person in the story felt like an actual PERSON. It isn't just the main characters that are allowed to have believable motives and emotions, and that really sets this book apart. I think overall, the character writing in this book exceeded that of the first and cements this as a worthy sequel, I just wished for a bit grander sense of adventure and a climax that didn't feel so 'contained'. Nevertheless, I venture forth excited into the next one.

[Ross Kitson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read this e-book in prep for an adventure I'm running set in the underwater city of Ascare. Although it's not in the book a huge amount, it nonetheless provides a fun backdrop of the Kraken Society, and several enjoyable villains (including a curious interpretation of a mindflayer ).
The book is easy going with relaxed characterisation, steady action, a few plot twists, and lots of stuff lifted from the DnD game. Elaine Cunningham was one of the more prolific and capable writers tasked with writing tales in the Forgotten Realms, and is always a reliable read.
Nothing amazing but a good enough read.

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

If ever a title was an accurate reflection of the contents. This novel is indeed a tangled web, and at times it struggles to adequately deal (or resolve) the array of plot threads dealt to the reader. What this means is that it's more densely plotted than the average D&D novel. It also means that there's a little too many shifts of scene and character.

And...it simply isn't as enjoyable as the first novel. Liriel Baenre dangerously verges upon Mary Sue territory here, and Fyodor's character development goes nowhere. Of course, the whole thing is set up for a sequel.

[SiriRainbow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pout elfi kouzelnice za ukotvenim sve vrozene magie pokracuje, nacez cestu zpestruji snahy nepratel, usilujici o jeji zivot. Pribeh je relativne uzavreny, ackoli samozrejme jeste ceka posledni dil serie.
Pribeh celkem prijemne plyne, stale se neco deje a nahlizime do roviny hrdinu i padouchu. Neustale sesilani kouzel a litanie zarikani kupodivu neomrzi a jen cekate co drowka vymyslela. Hrdinka, mozna zasluhou sveho puvodu, nastesti neni uplne pitoma, naopak z ni je misty detektiv, ktery sice mnohdy podvadi kouzly, ale o to pribeh rychleji plyne a nebabrate se na jednom miste.

[Mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. It took so many turns I didn't expect and it was so captivating throughout. I feel like I've been on quite the journey. Pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the setting of this one and the plot points all came together so, so well. Cunningham truly is a talented writer. My only wish is that it had been longer. Some of the plots felt like they wrapped up too quickly and neatly, but since there is a third book I won't be too upset about that yet.

I'm really enjoying this trilogy

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read the first book on the series, I vaguely remember the plot. I think I read it when it was new. However, I had no problem getting into the story and as I read the book the story came back. The story is well told, and was great. I don't want to give away too much, but I will say it hit me in the feels.

[Ogre · Rating 4 out of 5]

While no real surprises pop forth from this novel, Cunningham is a truly solid writer and her characters have real conflicts, both internal and external. Out of all the numerous hack authors that TSR hired to write their novels, it is perhaps no coincidence that the two most outstanding chose to write about drow elves.

[Joe Xtarr · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 50%

This got bad in a hurry. A big let down from the first book. As soon as a Forgotten Realms story goes on a ship, I know I'm going to check out, and this one dragged real hard. It didn't jump a shark, but it did fight one. This feels like all filler for an idea that could have been told in one or two chapters of another book.

[Kalliah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one gets lots of points for breaking the high fantasy mold. The major antagonist is a gender non conforming Ilithid running a spy network in a sunken elven ruin. That's so rad! Which is also why it's so disappointing the way the protagonist just kinda kills her in a two paragraph scene on the way to something else.👎

[Steven Wendell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very happy with this book

This book was great. It was an excellent continuation of the first in the series. It has great characters and an awesome assortment of creatures and elementals from the D&D realm I wasn't very familiar with. Really looking forward to the third book.

[Roberto Rho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si dipana la matassa creata dalla scrittrice...davvero molto entusiasmante, fino all'happy ending, doveroso. Molto meglio del primo libro, qui si spiega tutto e per tutto, quello che mancava nel primo libro.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellently written, the characters are very strong and the story is very interesting.