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Forgotten Realms: Pools #2
Pools of Darkness
In the sequel to The Pool of Radiance, a shapeshifter cat, an undead ghost-knight, and the minions of the evil god, Bane, join the heroes of Phlan as their city is once again threatened. Original.
313 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1992
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About the author
James M. Ward
116 books56 followersJames M. Ward (b. 1951) is an American game designer and fantasy author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
March 31, 2019
The 'Pools' series of Forgotten Realms novels skews more teenage than most. The heroes loom large, carry uncomplicated and unwavering motivations, and are more powerful than they have a right to be. The villains are buffoonish, one-dimensional, predictable, and uninteresting. The narrative wanders. Things happen, and eventually the big showdown takes place. (Guess who wins?). Enjoyment requires a suspension of criticism.
One might not expect great things from a video game tie-in novel sequel already tied into a fantasy role playing game campaign setting, and that one would be right. Pools of Darkness, the novel, is a direct sequel to the earlier Pool of Radiance, which itself was a video game tie-in, but Pools of Darkness, the video game, comes after a couple of other video game sequels to Pool of Radiance... I think? James Ward co-authored both books, but his writing partner changed here to Anne K. Brown, who stuck around for the third book as well, so I guess this effort was deemed a success.
Fans of Pool of Radiance will be pleased to see the return of the three heroes, Tarl, Shal and Ren. This novel takes place 10 years later. At the start (well, after the laughable prologue featuring a god acting like a whiny man-boy), the city they fought to save in the past is mysteriously ripped from the landscape and teleported to who-knows-where. Tarl and Shal, after a tantalizing sexytime scene, have to keep it together, while Ren (o' the Blade - worst last name ever, or just the most ridiculous?) is left on the outside and does his best to avoid assembling a new band of overpowered heroes to find and save his friends.
The one area that shines is battle descriptions. The many fights, small and large, are vivid and somewhat thrilling (although without a whiff of dramatic tension). Unfortunately they are also mostly disposable. The heroes encounter a band of monsters, perhaps take about two seconds to see through a veil of deception, epic battle ensues, victory! and then it's meaningless, at best very loosely linked to the primary threat.
Pacing is terrible; the stolen city of Phlan is trapped for several months in a dark cavern, and is assaulted perhaps three or four times? Any account of the city suffering under siege is absent. Character development is flat. Trust between 'hero' strangers was quickly established. There were countless campfire scenes, during which nobody's relationship advanced. Occasionally there were arguments about the plan of action which were resolved by reasonable discussion, which is better than the alternative presented, which was sustained petulance. The end missed several opportunities, such as revisiting the put-upon guard captain of the 'New Phlan' tent colony that Ren taunted earlier, and establishing any ongoing relationship with the new main characters.
Overall it feels like a tabletop campaign written out; the character classes (ranger, wizard, druid, paladin) each with a single 'interesting' twist, the random-seeming monster encounters on the way to a rapid final showdown, all could be drawn from the author's weekly home game. I have to wonder, too, what plot limitations were in place because of the video game upon which it is based.
(For reference or interpretation: I am reading the Forgotten Realms novels in publication order, for the first time, so my only points of reference within this series are earlier entries. I am currently up to 1992's releases).
One might not expect great things from a video game tie-in novel sequel already tied into a fantasy role playing game campaign setting, and that one would be right. Pools of Darkness, the novel, is a direct sequel to the earlier Pool of Radiance, which itself was a video game tie-in, but Pools of Darkness, the video game, comes after a couple of other video game sequels to Pool of Radiance... I think? James Ward co-authored both books, but his writing partner changed here to Anne K. Brown, who stuck around for the third book as well, so I guess this effort was deemed a success.
Fans of Pool of Radiance will be pleased to see the return of the three heroes, Tarl, Shal and Ren. This novel takes place 10 years later. At the start (well, after the laughable prologue featuring a god acting like a whiny man-boy), the city they fought to save in the past is mysteriously ripped from the landscape and teleported to who-knows-where. Tarl and Shal, after a tantalizing sexytime scene, have to keep it together, while Ren (o' the Blade - worst last name ever, or just the most ridiculous?) is left on the outside and does his best to avoid assembling a new band of overpowered heroes to find and save his friends.
The one area that shines is battle descriptions. The many fights, small and large, are vivid and somewhat thrilling (although without a whiff of dramatic tension). Unfortunately they are also mostly disposable. The heroes encounter a band of monsters, perhaps take about two seconds to see through a veil of deception, epic battle ensues, victory! and then it's meaningless, at best very loosely linked to the primary threat.
Pacing is terrible; the stolen city of Phlan is trapped for several months in a dark cavern, and is assaulted perhaps three or four times? Any account of the city suffering under siege is absent. Character development is flat. Trust between 'hero' strangers was quickly established. There were countless campfire scenes, during which nobody's relationship advanced. Occasionally there were arguments about the plan of action which were resolved by reasonable discussion, which is better than the alternative presented, which was sustained petulance. The end missed several opportunities, such as revisiting the put-upon guard captain of the 'New Phlan' tent colony that Ren taunted earlier, and establishing any ongoing relationship with the new main characters.
Overall it feels like a tabletop campaign written out; the character classes (ranger, wizard, druid, paladin) each with a single 'interesting' twist, the random-seeming monster encounters on the way to a rapid final showdown, all could be drawn from the author's weekly home game. I have to wonder, too, what plot limitations were in place because of the video game upon which it is based.
(For reference or interpretation: I am reading the Forgotten Realms novels in publication order, for the first time, so my only points of reference within this series are earlier entries. I am currently up to 1992's releases).
January 7, 2022
A solid outing, but not as good as the first book. This novel takes place 10 years after the first series and features our young adventurers as much more powerful seasoned heroes. It lacks much of the relationship building and certain aspects of the characters seem thrown in just because they're expected. The new adventurers we meet don't aren't sufficiently built up to where I had much investment in them.
Some plot elements were quite cliche, but I found it easy to read and wanted to get to to the end to see how everything wrapped up. I do look forward to reading the finale. I would give this 3.5/5 if I could include a half star review.
Some plot elements were quite cliche, but I found it easy to read and wanted to get to to the end to see how everything wrapped up. I do look forward to reading the finale. I would give this 3.5/5 if I could include a half star review.
December 23, 2008
I just finished this book. It wasn't my most favorite of the Forgotten Realms books...One of the authors changed and I think you can really tell the difference.
This book takes place ten years after the first one. Tarl and Shal are happily married and are the untitled protecters of the city of Phalan. Phalan has been prospering over the last 10 years and the outer ruins are no more...
Then, suddenly, the WHOLE city is transported into a giant underground cavern beneath a disgruntled Red Wizard of Thay's 'Red Tower', somewhere south of the Moonsea...
Okay, so this is a pretty serious thing...the teleportation of an entire city. But after he has it in this cavern, he can't get past the gates to get at the citizens. This was a huge and constant plot flaw (I mean, why didn't he just teleport the city without the walls? Or everyone in the city?). The Red Wizard, Marcus, is 'sposs to be this kind of stupid, overconfident, amatuer that has been givin all this power from the now 'Pool of Darkness', and by Bane, the god of Strife.
Also!! Bane is portrayed in the prolouge to have this infantile personality, and throw this ridiculous tantrum about not having enough followers or power or something. Its really not good (however, he is also portrayed in sorta the same light in Avatar series, so maybe this is 'sposs to be his character...but I don't like it) Anywho, I hate it when the antagonist is this wimpy idiot with unerned power. While it is a relief to see them get their come-up-ins'(almost always dished out by a smarter and naturally more powerful ally that has been pretending to serve them), it also robbs the heros of any real acheivment; 'cause the villian was always an idiot and you know that they are going to fail. But I digress...
Ren is out in the wilderness somewhere, when he starts having bad dreams about his freinds. He decides that he must go find them and figure out his dreams. He arrives at Phalan only to find it completly gone. A pair of druid cousins (a boy and a girl, who's names I already don't remember) latch onto Ren, telling him that their god, Sylvanus (god of the forests I think), has given them the task to help Ren find Phalan. At first he doesn't want their help, but eventually he surrenders. We now have a Ranger/Theif, an illusionist druid, and a healer druid. Starting to make a nice party.
Throughout all of this, we are introduced to a new sorceress named (Mir?) and her familiar, a giant cat called Gamil (or something), who often takes on the form of a human barbarian. This sorceress, Mir, has devoted her life to destroying Pools of Radiance and Pools of Darkness (in her youth she was obsessed with them, and in some spell mishap she is now cursed with long life...boohoo).
She meets Ren and the druids and they all decide to join together into one big party. They leave the tent city that used to be Phalan and set out in the direction that Mir thinks is best. The first day out they get into a fight with a bunch of zombies and skeletons at a tomb. There is a Knight already in combat with the undead when they arrive. They all defeat the bad guys and the paladin joins the party. But wait!! He's not a real paladin, but an undead skeleton warrior of the god Tyr. WoW!! His name is Millantides and he hates Bane 'cause his god says so, so he wants to come along. The illusionist puts a spell on him to make him look normal and they are on their way. So, we got ranger/theif, illusionist druid, healer druid, sorceress, barbarian cat-man, and skeleton paladin. It's a bit much for me...
So, the idiot Marcus keeps trying to attack the Phalan inside the cave. He has a pet Pit Fiend (the token strong sidekick that will overthrow the idiot). There are several scenes that show the Marcus battle plans being put into horrible play and failing over and over again. Shal and Tarl always lead the fight against the wizard's minions and alway come out on top. It's pointless. And its kinda anoying. Seriously, I could write all about it, but its not good...so why would I...
I will say that the whole point that Marcus stole the city was so he could steal the souls of the citizens and put them into the pool of darkness to feed the power hungry Bane, the god who gave him all his power. But Marcus is more interested in capturing the city and proving that he is a master general...it's stupid. The pit fiend keeps telling him that he is doing things the wrong way, but he doesn't listen.
Also, Shal's pregnant and the spell duels with the Red Wizard have caused her babie to grow too fast and he wants out early (the new author of this book finished it just after she had her first child...I wonder if that is why this part of the story in included, 'cause to doesn't have much of a point either...except maybe to make the reader feel that the good guys are in trouble, 'cause we haven't felt that way the whole book and there can't be a climax if there is no conflict...but I digress...).
So, let me just reitereate that the bad guys suck in this story. I hate it when the bad guys suck...
At one point, the compainions come to a forest that has been overgrown with some kind of evil. The druids are ever so distraught and feel that they must do something to help. The girl druid ends up sacrificing herself to become a willow dryad and sanctifies an area of the wood. Her cousin promises to come back and tend the grove when the mission is over (this is the only cool, memerable thing. I like the idea of a druid tending a grove that his/her relative has become the spirt of. I would use that.)
So, eventually the party of adventures (minus one druid) make it to the Red Wizard's tower (above ground) and have a fight. One chapter ends with all of the companions in dire straights, and Marcus is dying from a peirced lung...then suddenly the Pit Fiend arrives! Oh NOOO! There is a half a second between the chapters when you wonder if they are gonna get out of it...
And then everyone escapes the clutches of doom with some overly simple and lame means. I hate it!!
Of course the Feind kills the wizard and is now free to be as powerful and evil as he wants. He starts to kick everyones butt all over again. Then, Shal and Tarl show up and he kicks their butt's too. Then, Mir remember's the Pit Fiend's name and sends him back to the Nine Hells. Simple as pie....stupid...
Then Shal goes into labor. Tarl throws his blessed hammer into the pool of darkness to clense it and it works. But he looses the hammer forever (or so we think).
In a few weeks everyone is happy and we realize that Tarl and Shal's son will grow up to retrieve the same hammer from Bane, who confiscated it on its way up to Tyr. Lame. And, I already know how the last story is gonna end.
This book takes place ten years after the first one. Tarl and Shal are happily married and are the untitled protecters of the city of Phalan. Phalan has been prospering over the last 10 years and the outer ruins are no more...
Then, suddenly, the WHOLE city is transported into a giant underground cavern beneath a disgruntled Red Wizard of Thay's 'Red Tower', somewhere south of the Moonsea...
Okay, so this is a pretty serious thing...the teleportation of an entire city. But after he has it in this cavern, he can't get past the gates to get at the citizens. This was a huge and constant plot flaw (I mean, why didn't he just teleport the city without the walls? Or everyone in the city?). The Red Wizard, Marcus, is 'sposs to be this kind of stupid, overconfident, amatuer that has been givin all this power from the now 'Pool of Darkness', and by Bane, the god of Strife.
Also!! Bane is portrayed in the prolouge to have this infantile personality, and throw this ridiculous tantrum about not having enough followers or power or something. Its really not good (however, he is also portrayed in sorta the same light in Avatar series, so maybe this is 'sposs to be his character...but I don't like it) Anywho, I hate it when the antagonist is this wimpy idiot with unerned power. While it is a relief to see them get their come-up-ins'(almost always dished out by a smarter and naturally more powerful ally that has been pretending to serve them), it also robbs the heros of any real acheivment; 'cause the villian was always an idiot and you know that they are going to fail. But I digress...
Ren is out in the wilderness somewhere, when he starts having bad dreams about his freinds. He decides that he must go find them and figure out his dreams. He arrives at Phalan only to find it completly gone. A pair of druid cousins (a boy and a girl, who's names I already don't remember) latch onto Ren, telling him that their god, Sylvanus (god of the forests I think), has given them the task to help Ren find Phalan. At first he doesn't want their help, but eventually he surrenders. We now have a Ranger/Theif, an illusionist druid, and a healer druid. Starting to make a nice party.
Throughout all of this, we are introduced to a new sorceress named (Mir?) and her familiar, a giant cat called Gamil (or something), who often takes on the form of a human barbarian. This sorceress, Mir, has devoted her life to destroying Pools of Radiance and Pools of Darkness (in her youth she was obsessed with them, and in some spell mishap she is now cursed with long life...boohoo).
She meets Ren and the druids and they all decide to join together into one big party. They leave the tent city that used to be Phalan and set out in the direction that Mir thinks is best. The first day out they get into a fight with a bunch of zombies and skeletons at a tomb. There is a Knight already in combat with the undead when they arrive. They all defeat the bad guys and the paladin joins the party. But wait!! He's not a real paladin, but an undead skeleton warrior of the god Tyr. WoW!! His name is Millantides and he hates Bane 'cause his god says so, so he wants to come along. The illusionist puts a spell on him to make him look normal and they are on their way. So, we got ranger/theif, illusionist druid, healer druid, sorceress, barbarian cat-man, and skeleton paladin. It's a bit much for me...
So, the idiot Marcus keeps trying to attack the Phalan inside the cave. He has a pet Pit Fiend (the token strong sidekick that will overthrow the idiot). There are several scenes that show the Marcus battle plans being put into horrible play and failing over and over again. Shal and Tarl always lead the fight against the wizard's minions and alway come out on top. It's pointless. And its kinda anoying. Seriously, I could write all about it, but its not good...so why would I...
I will say that the whole point that Marcus stole the city was so he could steal the souls of the citizens and put them into the pool of darkness to feed the power hungry Bane, the god who gave him all his power. But Marcus is more interested in capturing the city and proving that he is a master general...it's stupid. The pit fiend keeps telling him that he is doing things the wrong way, but he doesn't listen.
Also, Shal's pregnant and the spell duels with the Red Wizard have caused her babie to grow too fast and he wants out early (the new author of this book finished it just after she had her first child...I wonder if that is why this part of the story in included, 'cause to doesn't have much of a point either...except maybe to make the reader feel that the good guys are in trouble, 'cause we haven't felt that way the whole book and there can't be a climax if there is no conflict...but I digress...).
So, let me just reitereate that the bad guys suck in this story. I hate it when the bad guys suck...
At one point, the compainions come to a forest that has been overgrown with some kind of evil. The druids are ever so distraught and feel that they must do something to help. The girl druid ends up sacrificing herself to become a willow dryad and sanctifies an area of the wood. Her cousin promises to come back and tend the grove when the mission is over (this is the only cool, memerable thing. I like the idea of a druid tending a grove that his/her relative has become the spirt of. I would use that.)
So, eventually the party of adventures (minus one druid) make it to the Red Wizard's tower (above ground) and have a fight. One chapter ends with all of the companions in dire straights, and Marcus is dying from a peirced lung...then suddenly the Pit Fiend arrives! Oh NOOO! There is a half a second between the chapters when you wonder if they are gonna get out of it...
And then everyone escapes the clutches of doom with some overly simple and lame means. I hate it!!
Of course the Feind kills the wizard and is now free to be as powerful and evil as he wants. He starts to kick everyones butt all over again. Then, Shal and Tarl show up and he kicks their butt's too. Then, Mir remember's the Pit Fiend's name and sends him back to the Nine Hells. Simple as pie....stupid...
Then Shal goes into labor. Tarl throws his blessed hammer into the pool of darkness to clense it and it works. But he looses the hammer forever (or so we think).
In a few weeks everyone is happy and we realize that Tarl and Shal's son will grow up to retrieve the same hammer from Bane, who confiscated it on its way up to Tyr. Lame. And, I already know how the last story is gonna end.
October 2, 2022
The city of Phlan is stolen by a god and two groups of heroes attempt to recapture it.
Similar to the first book in this series, it is written as if someone was reading a D&D manual and rolling dice to see what happens to the heroes at each stage. The writing is getting better, but the heroes are still one dimensional and there is no real emotion at anything that happens.
Similar to the first book in this series, it is written as if someone was reading a D&D manual and rolling dice to see what happens to the heroes at each stage. The writing is getting better, but the heroes are still one dimensional and there is no real emotion at anything that happens.
Read
July 20, 2025I enjoyed this novel even though it was the novelization of a Forgotten Realms computer game from the 1990s. Transforming a game story into a coherent novel can be tricky, but the authors do a good job. The story of our heroes seeking to save Phlan from the evil corruption of Bane was a bit stiff and tropey, but then again, this was an early TSR novel and that's all part of the charm.
June 23, 2019
Much better book than book 1. Great pacing and tempo. Easy and enjoyable to read.
June 21, 2011
It reads like particularly bad over-acting, written out in novel form.
Read
May 25, 2012unreadable
April 17, 2016
I gave up on the fourth chapter. Pool of Radiance was boring, but at least it was BORING. NOT THIS
February 13, 2025
What an abysmal sequel to an already terrible start.
I can't even. This is one of the worst novels I've read in my lifetime. I consider myself a huge fantasy fan and have a keen sense even for cheap pulp fiction every once in a while, and I can certainly lower my standards to enjoy books of lesser-quality that are at least somewhat entertaining. But if I were to lower my standards to enjoy this book, I'd have to dig a hole deeper than the halls of Undermountain.
I found not a single good thing to really like or enjoy about this so called book. It is a chore, a slow-paced snooze-fest that evokes feelings of grief and suffering for the death of artistry. Ok, enough drama, I'll just get to the guts of it.
Pools of Darkness is terrible written in every sense of the word. The prose, at best, is generic workman-like prose with technical descriptions that be understood by anyone, but at worst it is an exceptional example of over-exposition, tell don't show sacrileges, and an over abundance of senseless descriptions that are just there to remind the reader the same shit up to three times, constantly repeating itself to the point it feels self-indulgent. It becomes a chore to read through. The dialogue, in particular, is downright atrocious, childish and cartoonish, and that feels like an offense to actual cartoons. This is just terrible dialogue that portrays artificial characters with barely any depth whatsoever.
And the characters are more than forgettable. The novel starts with the previous two protagonist from the first novel, who, during that one, were at least capable of showing growth and having their own internal struggles. Here, however, you must suck it up and imagine that in ten years or so these characters have somehow become superheroes that live a life of legend. Their romance is so insipid and dull that it made me cringe every time I read how they expressed their love for each other.
Speaking of cringe: the villains. These are the worst villains I've had the displeasure to read. Absolutely loathsome and not because of who they are, but because of how they are. Ward did an absolutely disgusting job at creating the most stupid, incompetent, one-dimensional, brainless villains I've ever seen. They do nothing but complain like idiots, contradicting each other constantly, doing nothing that moves the plot forward, they even have one-liners that include the words "puny humans". There is no point to the existence of these characters, they are there just to be plot devices and do no other purpose. No nuance, no depth, no motivations, not even an explanations as to who these idiots are.
If you want to know how terrible this novel is just read the introduction. It is one of the worst 1-pages I've read, no, actually, the single worst first chapter to start a novel ever. It is so, so bad.
What a waste of time.
I can't even. This is one of the worst novels I've read in my lifetime. I consider myself a huge fantasy fan and have a keen sense even for cheap pulp fiction every once in a while, and I can certainly lower my standards to enjoy books of lesser-quality that are at least somewhat entertaining. But if I were to lower my standards to enjoy this book, I'd have to dig a hole deeper than the halls of Undermountain.
I found not a single good thing to really like or enjoy about this so called book. It is a chore, a slow-paced snooze-fest that evokes feelings of grief and suffering for the death of artistry. Ok, enough drama, I'll just get to the guts of it.
Pools of Darkness is terrible written in every sense of the word. The prose, at best, is generic workman-like prose with technical descriptions that be understood by anyone, but at worst it is an exceptional example of over-exposition, tell don't show sacrileges, and an over abundance of senseless descriptions that are just there to remind the reader the same shit up to three times, constantly repeating itself to the point it feels self-indulgent. It becomes a chore to read through. The dialogue, in particular, is downright atrocious, childish and cartoonish, and that feels like an offense to actual cartoons. This is just terrible dialogue that portrays artificial characters with barely any depth whatsoever.
And the characters are more than forgettable. The novel starts with the previous two protagonist from the first novel, who, during that one, were at least capable of showing growth and having their own internal struggles. Here, however, you must suck it up and imagine that in ten years or so these characters have somehow become superheroes that live a life of legend. Their romance is so insipid and dull that it made me cringe every time I read how they expressed their love for each other.
Speaking of cringe: the villains. These are the worst villains I've had the displeasure to read. Absolutely loathsome and not because of who they are, but because of how they are. Ward did an absolutely disgusting job at creating the most stupid, incompetent, one-dimensional, brainless villains I've ever seen. They do nothing but complain like idiots, contradicting each other constantly, doing nothing that moves the plot forward, they even have one-liners that include the words "puny humans". There is no point to the existence of these characters, they are there just to be plot devices and do no other purpose. No nuance, no depth, no motivations, not even an explanations as to who these idiots are.
If you want to know how terrible this novel is just read the introduction. It is one of the worst 1-pages I've read, no, actually, the single worst first chapter to start a novel ever. It is so, so bad.
What a waste of time.
June 21, 2025
The prequel novel, Pool of Radiance, wasn’t good, but this novel took it down a notch by being outright bad rather than simply not good.
The plot: ten years after the previous book, the city of Phlan is transported by magic from the surface of the world and dumped inside a giant cavern where it suffers repeated attacks by the evil forces of the red wizard who wants to conquer the city and sacrifice the souls of its people in the pool of darkness so he can gain the power to obtain demigod status or something. (This isn’t me being facetious, the novel is honestly that poorly explained.) Luckily, two of the heroes from the previous novel, Tarl and Shal, are living in Phlan and can lead the defence. Meanwhile, the third previous hero, the absurdly named Ren o’ the blade, is roaming the land as a ranger beset by nightmares that convince him he has to find his old friends. He picks up followers in his quest, two druids a wizard who has a giant shapeshifting cat as a familiar and an undead paladin hero.
The plot follows these two threads. The plot is incredibly linear, stolidly following a straight path with no plot twists whatsoever. There are plenty of encounters and battles that are written with absolutely no excitement or drama - we know our three main heroes have plot armour that will see them safely through to the end. The bad guys are a bunch of clowns, with the red wizard leading the forces taking the role of chief idiot. His chief assistant is a pit fiend called Tanetal who hates him, is irritatingly inept and given to shouting out his name backwards ‘Latenat!’ at the end of every sentence for reasons that are never explained.
How would I sum up this novel? Boring, shallow and dull. I recommend it to absolutely no one. In fact, I recommend avoiding it like it’s radioactive. If you’ve read Dragonlance and want to explore the Forgotten Realms, I would suggest you try Azure Bonds or Elfshadow, both of which I would recommend, or even the sprawling Drizzt Do’Urden saga.
I plan to read more TSR books this year, but the Pools trilogy will be being removed from my shelves to my pile of books to be disposed of. If you’ve read this review and now actually want to read these books, message me privately, and I’ll happily post them to you.
The plot: ten years after the previous book, the city of Phlan is transported by magic from the surface of the world and dumped inside a giant cavern where it suffers repeated attacks by the evil forces of the red wizard who wants to conquer the city and sacrifice the souls of its people in the pool of darkness so he can gain the power to obtain demigod status or something. (This isn’t me being facetious, the novel is honestly that poorly explained.) Luckily, two of the heroes from the previous novel, Tarl and Shal, are living in Phlan and can lead the defence. Meanwhile, the third previous hero, the absurdly named Ren o’ the blade, is roaming the land as a ranger beset by nightmares that convince him he has to find his old friends. He picks up followers in his quest, two druids a wizard who has a giant shapeshifting cat as a familiar and an undead paladin hero.
The plot follows these two threads. The plot is incredibly linear, stolidly following a straight path with no plot twists whatsoever. There are plenty of encounters and battles that are written with absolutely no excitement or drama - we know our three main heroes have plot armour that will see them safely through to the end. The bad guys are a bunch of clowns, with the red wizard leading the forces taking the role of chief idiot. His chief assistant is a pit fiend called Tanetal who hates him, is irritatingly inept and given to shouting out his name backwards ‘Latenat!’ at the end of every sentence for reasons that are never explained.
How would I sum up this novel? Boring, shallow and dull. I recommend it to absolutely no one. In fact, I recommend avoiding it like it’s radioactive. If you’ve read Dragonlance and want to explore the Forgotten Realms, I would suggest you try Azure Bonds or Elfshadow, both of which I would recommend, or even the sprawling Drizzt Do’Urden saga.
I plan to read more TSR books this year, but the Pools trilogy will be being removed from my shelves to my pile of books to be disposed of. If you’ve read this review and now actually want to read these books, message me privately, and I’ll happily post them to you.
November 4, 2022
Pools of Darkness is a perfect representation of a style of fantasy associated with the time. But fair warning, it may not be for everyone.
Full review:
https://thefatefulforce.com/the-fatef...
Pools of Darkness is a perfect representation of a style of fantasy associated with the time. A time when D&D was owned by TSR and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition was the latest game.
So this review comes with a fair warning that Pools of Darkness may not be for every reader.
Pools of Darkness leans into many classic tropes that may not appeal to some of the newer generations. But for older fans of D&D, that grew up in the 80s and 90’s, this book may very well be a winner!
Over-the-top monologuing villains? Check!
Classic heroes, that fit playable classes? Check!
A wide range of classic monsters “that be needing slaying”? Check! (Yes it has Owlbears!)
All in all, this is a light and fun read that will not challenge your faculties. Yet while the plot is simplistic and the characters generic, the story is a truly classic adventure. One where you can almost hear the dice rolling as the heroes take on all manner of evils.
The story revolves around two plot arcs. One is set in the city of Phlan. The city is “stolen” with magic from the material plane, by agents of Bane (God of Tyranny).
Transported to an underground cavern, assaulted by all manner of evil creatures, the citizens of Phlan, led by two heroes Shal Desanea (a powerful Sorceress), and Tarl Desanea, (a priest of Tyr, God of Justice) put up a heroic defense.
The second plot arc revolves around a group of adventurers led by an old friend, and former companion of the two Heroes of Phlan, Ren o’ the Blade. Ren joins forces with a new group of adventurers, questing to find the city and save it before it’s too late.
There are some small twists and turns but the plot is fairly linear without too many surprises.
Pools of Darkness is the catalyst that ignited my love for fantasy and will forever go down as one of my all-time favorite books. 5/5
Pools of Darkness is the second book in the Pools series and it is recommended you read Pools of Radiance first, another great read!
Full review:
https://thefatefulforce.com/the-fatef...
Pools of Darkness is a perfect representation of a style of fantasy associated with the time. A time when D&D was owned by TSR and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition was the latest game.
So this review comes with a fair warning that Pools of Darkness may not be for every reader.
Pools of Darkness leans into many classic tropes that may not appeal to some of the newer generations. But for older fans of D&D, that grew up in the 80s and 90’s, this book may very well be a winner!
Over-the-top monologuing villains? Check!
Classic heroes, that fit playable classes? Check!
A wide range of classic monsters “that be needing slaying”? Check! (Yes it has Owlbears!)
All in all, this is a light and fun read that will not challenge your faculties. Yet while the plot is simplistic and the characters generic, the story is a truly classic adventure. One where you can almost hear the dice rolling as the heroes take on all manner of evils.
The story revolves around two plot arcs. One is set in the city of Phlan. The city is “stolen” with magic from the material plane, by agents of Bane (God of Tyranny).
Transported to an underground cavern, assaulted by all manner of evil creatures, the citizens of Phlan, led by two heroes Shal Desanea (a powerful Sorceress), and Tarl Desanea, (a priest of Tyr, God of Justice) put up a heroic defense.
The second plot arc revolves around a group of adventurers led by an old friend, and former companion of the two Heroes of Phlan, Ren o’ the Blade. Ren joins forces with a new group of adventurers, questing to find the city and save it before it’s too late.
There are some small twists and turns but the plot is fairly linear without too many surprises.
Pools of Darkness is the catalyst that ignited my love for fantasy and will forever go down as one of my all-time favorite books. 5/5
Pools of Darkness is the second book in the Pools series and it is recommended you read Pools of Radiance first, another great read!
December 7, 2023
I liked and enjoyed reading this book. However, I do have to say that if I didn't know there was a third book, I would have thought this book was a great ending to the story.
Ten years after their previous adventure, our brave heroes have settled down to a "normal" (or so they think). Ren, Shar, and Tal aren't going to get much rest because their main enemy is the God Bane! Bane is an evil God and is out for revenge. Added to the adventuring party are Elaine (a sorceress), Elaine's shape-shifting cat, two Druids, and Miltiades (a skeleton Paladin with a good disguise).
Though I had read this series almost 40 years ago, it still held up. I was hooked on the 2nd page. Yes, the plot was thin and the villains pretty dumb (but since it's a flat out fantasy book, I let that slide). I just cannot judge fantasy books by the same standards that I judge classics or best-sellers!
I thought the heroes were well-written and the authors brought them to "life" rather well. And keep in mind that while James M. Ward is still one of the authors the other author, Jane Cooper Hong, has been switched out for Anne K. Brown. So keeping the storyline intact and writing the characters as they were in the first book, is an amazing feat.
Anyway, Tal and Shar are married and expecting a baby. Because Shar can cast magic, it affects the growth of the baby strangely. As for the plot, Bane is changing all the pools of radiance into pools of darkness (cursed).
But that's all I'm going to say about the actual plot other than the fact that I, as a D&D player, found it to be interesting and enjoyable.
Yes, the baby is born before the book ends!
Ten years after their previous adventure, our brave heroes have settled down to a "normal" (or so they think). Ren, Shar, and Tal aren't going to get much rest because their main enemy is the God Bane! Bane is an evil God and is out for revenge. Added to the adventuring party are Elaine (a sorceress), Elaine's shape-shifting cat, two Druids, and Miltiades (a skeleton Paladin with a good disguise).
Though I had read this series almost 40 years ago, it still held up. I was hooked on the 2nd page. Yes, the plot was thin and the villains pretty dumb (but since it's a flat out fantasy book, I let that slide). I just cannot judge fantasy books by the same standards that I judge classics or best-sellers!
I thought the heroes were well-written and the authors brought them to "life" rather well. And keep in mind that while James M. Ward is still one of the authors the other author, Jane Cooper Hong, has been switched out for Anne K. Brown. So keeping the storyline intact and writing the characters as they were in the first book, is an amazing feat.
Anyway, Tal and Shar are married and expecting a baby. Because Shar can cast magic, it affects the growth of the baby strangely. As for the plot, Bane is changing all the pools of radiance into pools of darkness (cursed).
But that's all I'm going to say about the actual plot other than the fact that I, as a D&D player, found it to be interesting and enjoyable.
Yes, the baby is born before the book ends!
August 21, 2020
BLUF: Better than the first book, but still pretty weak narrative...
James Ward is joined by Anne K Brown for this sequel to Pools of Radiance, set ten years later and introducing a new set of heroes to the table as the writers compare notes from their sessions of D&D and cobble together a story based on a G.I. Joe plotline.
In this episode of G.I. Joe, Marcus the Red (Cobra Commander) has swiped the Joe base Phlan off the face of Toril with the aid of Bane. Aided by a pit fiend with Tourette's named Tanetal (Zartan) and a skelatal army led by Captain Brittle (Destro), Marcus tries to ineffectively capture the souls of Phlan through repeated botched attacks. ("DESTRO! Why have you failed me!!!") [Deadly serious: Read all of Marcus' voice in Cobra Commander's squeaky voice, and this gets really funny]
While the Joes valiantly lead their defense and eat muffins in their displaced city, another team of Joes track down the pool of darkness hidden above the surface, bumbling about on a series of adventures meeting several deus ex machina such as the undead immortal paladin Militades who gives each of the party members a unique magical item and the succubus Lunlaa (The Baroness) who provides the means to unravel the whole scheme.
Not a great entry in the Forgotten Realms series, made better through the actions of Hasbro's action figure series. Took me 11 days to read mostly because I found cereal boxes more entertaining.
James Ward is joined by Anne K Brown for this sequel to Pools of Radiance, set ten years later and introducing a new set of heroes to the table as the writers compare notes from their sessions of D&D and cobble together a story based on a G.I. Joe plotline.
In this episode of G.I. Joe, Marcus the Red (Cobra Commander) has swiped the Joe base Phlan off the face of Toril with the aid of Bane. Aided by a pit fiend with Tourette's named Tanetal (Zartan) and a skelatal army led by Captain Brittle (Destro), Marcus tries to ineffectively capture the souls of Phlan through repeated botched attacks. ("DESTRO! Why have you failed me!!!") [Deadly serious: Read all of Marcus' voice in Cobra Commander's squeaky voice, and this gets really funny]
While the Joes valiantly lead their defense and eat muffins in their displaced city, another team of Joes track down the pool of darkness hidden above the surface, bumbling about on a series of adventures meeting several deus ex machina such as the undead immortal paladin Militades who gives each of the party members a unique magical item and the succubus Lunlaa (The Baroness) who provides the means to unravel the whole scheme.
Not a great entry in the Forgotten Realms series, made better through the actions of Hasbro's action figure series. Took me 11 days to read mostly because I found cereal boxes more entertaining.
September 8, 2019
While not as strong as the first in the series, this book is entertaining and follows the original adventurers (Shal, Tarl and Ren O'the Blade) as they try to rescue the city of Phlan from the attacks of an evil wizard. The trio are joined by new heroes who are well developed and add to the overall story. While by no means a must read, it is good summer reading and leads into the slightly better third book The Pool of Twilight.
One complaint I have for this book is how one dimensional the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) is in the story. While its clear that he want to become a god, the way he is portrayed I wonder how he accumulated the power he has. He does not come off as either particularly smart or talented and had any competent villain been in his place I am sure the 'master plan' would have succeeded.
Where I struggle with these books (in general) is how much 'magic' appears to be readily available to both the heroes and the villains compared to other Forgotten Realms (TSR/D&D) stories. Even the core video game the books are based off of didn't have the Wishing Rings and Super Magic Hammers in this story. This feels more like the books written for the Greyhawk setting (Queen of the Demonweb Pits, etc...) where the books are almost parodies of fantasy novels and aren't meant to be taken to seriously.
One complaint I have for this book is how one dimensional the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) is in the story. While its clear that he want to become a god, the way he is portrayed I wonder how he accumulated the power he has. He does not come off as either particularly smart or talented and had any competent villain been in his place I am sure the 'master plan' would have succeeded.
Where I struggle with these books (in general) is how much 'magic' appears to be readily available to both the heroes and the villains compared to other Forgotten Realms (TSR/D&D) stories. Even the core video game the books are based off of didn't have the Wishing Rings and Super Magic Hammers in this story. This feels more like the books written for the Greyhawk setting (Queen of the Demonweb Pits, etc...) where the books are almost parodies of fantasy novels and aren't meant to be taken to seriously.
October 23, 2020
Following Pools of Radiance, this reads as though they decided to shift gears and target a much younger audience. The writing is greatly simplified, newly introduced characters lack depth, the threats are buffoonish, and everything lacks stakes.
The divine antagonist, a terrible and evil god that has been depicted as sinister and patient in other novels, is impetuous and speaks like an 80's cartoon villain. He has sycophant minions in tow that read like goons from a child's comic book. Very little time is spent on any meaningful exposition, and what scarce amount is present is shallow. If you read Pools of Radiance then you already know the main trio of characters. Some new faces are introduced, but there's a general lack of character development throughout.
If you can look past all of that, placing yourself in the shoes of a very young reader who is perhaps picking up a fantasy novel for the first time, it's somewhat enjoyable. Despite the lack of sophistication the story does move along briskly, and there's enough action to - I think - satisfy most in that regards.
I don't know who this book was written for. Not me, that's for sure.
The divine antagonist, a terrible and evil god that has been depicted as sinister and patient in other novels, is impetuous and speaks like an 80's cartoon villain. He has sycophant minions in tow that read like goons from a child's comic book. Very little time is spent on any meaningful exposition, and what scarce amount is present is shallow. If you read Pools of Radiance then you already know the main trio of characters. Some new faces are introduced, but there's a general lack of character development throughout.
If you can look past all of that, placing yourself in the shoes of a very young reader who is perhaps picking up a fantasy novel for the first time, it's somewhat enjoyable. Despite the lack of sophistication the story does move along briskly, and there's enough action to - I think - satisfy most in that regards.
I don't know who this book was written for. Not me, that's for sure.
October 19, 2020
Dans ce deuxième épisode, nous retrouvons les personnages du premier opus quelques années plus tard. Mais les voilà qu'ils repartent combattre des ennemis qui ont enlevés la cité de Phlan pour asseoir leur pouvoir en sacrifiant des populations dans les fontaines de ténèbres.
Ce roman est aussi épique que le premier épisode de cette trilogie dans l'univers de Donjons et Dragons où les héros peuvent réaliser des choses que peu de mortels peuvent simplement imaginer. C'est de l'Heroic Fantasy comme vous pourrez peut-être en lire, mais certains passages sont très lourds et n'apportent pas grand chose au récit. On se retrouve parfois à découvrir des détails sans intérêt pour l'histoire qui sont là uniquement pour remplir des pages et qui donnent la sensation d'avoir à faire à l'homme de fer, indestructible malgré une apparence banale.
L'écriture est quant à elle très fluide, mais sans grandeur aucune.
Un roman qui se lit vite mais qui n'accroche pas beaucoup le lecteur.
Ce roman est aussi épique que le premier épisode de cette trilogie dans l'univers de Donjons et Dragons où les héros peuvent réaliser des choses que peu de mortels peuvent simplement imaginer. C'est de l'Heroic Fantasy comme vous pourrez peut-être en lire, mais certains passages sont très lourds et n'apportent pas grand chose au récit. On se retrouve parfois à découvrir des détails sans intérêt pour l'histoire qui sont là uniquement pour remplir des pages et qui donnent la sensation d'avoir à faire à l'homme de fer, indestructible malgré une apparence banale.
L'écriture est quant à elle très fluide, mais sans grandeur aucune.
Un roman qui se lit vite mais qui n'accroche pas beaucoup le lecteur.
June 24, 2018
Decisamente migliore del primo libro. I personaggi sono molto più caratterizzati e la storia si sviluppa in maniera più lineare. Non ho ben chiara la dinamica per cui Marcus, e quindi Bane, nascondono Phlan per poi attaccarla di nascosto, ma tuttosommato la missione di Ren e compagni, molto belli i personaggi di Gamaliel e Meltiades, ha sicuramente più senso e viene sviluppata in una maniera meno "casuale" del precedente. Certo, il finale è un po' tirato via, ma la battaglia finale è ben più godibile di quella del precedente libro.
November 25, 2020
So I gave book 1 Pools of Radiance a 3. This book is a 3.5 I would say. The writing has improved but I found the villainous wizard Marcus to be very much a cardboard cutout villan. Very generic, very little depth. I really enjoyed the heroes from the first book being seen a few years on and the new companions they joined with this book. Good overall idea. The gameplay in tabletop would be plenty of fun I am guessing.
March 28, 2021
Clearly not as good as the first book imo. I still really like the characters, and the new additions to the protagonist cast were all great ones. There was just waaaaaay too many villain scenes this time. Between all the blathering on by flat, completely unlikable evil sorcerers and fiends and all the constant fight scenes I just feel like 50% of the book was kind of tedious to get through honestly, that’s why I didn’t give more stars ^_^;
June 9, 2021
This book was almost not readable it started out that bad. I didn't think the first book was particularly good as I gave it a 3. This book is a 2.5 rounded to 3. This is from someone who is reading the entire Forgotten Realms series in chronological order so it is probably skewed higher than it should be rated. Let's start with Marcus. From everything I read about the Red Wizards of Thay, someone this incompetent would have been killed by another Red Wizard prior to him being given all these powers. Then he is able to teleport the entire city along with some of the sea and he can't get past a wall with numerous armies? Why did he even teleport the wall in the first place? The entire portion in the cavern just isn't good at all until the very end where it is meh. Even the beginning part with Ren all the way up to New Phlan isn't very good and I almost quit but if I was able to get through Black Wizards this wasn't quite that bad. Once Evaine, Gam and Miltiades all joined the party is when it was at least good. Even the druids were interesting. Hopefully in the finale Evaine and Gam are back. As for the actual plot, Marcus and his pit fiend teleport Phlan to the cavern to feed the residents to the pool of darkness for Bane. They didn't say when this was outside 10 years after the first book but obviously before the Gods roamed the realms since Bane is still a God even though the book was chronologically written after most of the Avatar series. Marcus is to incompetent and the citizens just to strong so they hold out while Ren and party piece together what has happened to his friends so they can come and save the day. Even Moander helps out Marcus and that isn't enough. Thought Moander is gone too? The whole book just isn't good and either is my review of it. I wasted enough time on it. Hopefully the next one is way better.
July 1, 2018
On par with the first in the series. That's to say, it's pure popcorn with nary a trace of any feature that makes great literature great - well, except the fun value, which this novel does possess in a small amount. As with the novel before, you'll get more entertainment out of the SSI Gold Box game this is based upon.
September 26, 2023
It reads like someone read the first novel and decided to write a dumbed-down version with comical oversimplification and a narrative that would appeal to preschoolers.
The idea of a Red Wizard hijacking a city could have made a fantastic novel. It would've taken minimal effort from the authors for me to rate the book higher...
The idea of a Red Wizard hijacking a city could have made a fantastic novel. It would've taken minimal effort from the authors for me to rate the book higher...
March 24, 2024
Strange to hear that James Ward died last week, between me reading the first and second books. Like the first, it's simple stuff, with it's game DNA showing, but not as blanantly as the first one. It's also a bit less obsessed with the character's physiques. It's enjoyable light weight fareif you're a fan.
August 18, 2025
I am not really sure how to review this book. It was generally a series of character introductions and combats, similar in some ways to a recap of a game session. Because the characters are supposed to be more experienced, it didn't feel as strange as the first book (in which the low level PCs gained powerful items right away). Basically an easy read, not too deep, but not terrible either.
February 16, 2025
Pretty standard Sword and Sorcery.
Same core characters from Pool of Radiance along with new comrades.
Characters still don't have a lot of depth, but action moves quickly along to the unsurprising conclusion.
Same core characters from Pool of Radiance along with new comrades.
Characters still don't have a lot of depth, but action moves quickly along to the unsurprising conclusion.
January 11, 2026
I know many people said this book isn't as good as the first one. that is very understandable, however I read this as if it was a story from someone's campaign notes, assumed the evil bad guy was more comically evil and rather enjoyed it as a whole.
May 9, 2020
The writing wasn't outstanding, but the characters and plot were interesting and kept me engaged. This obviously wasn't the best book ever, but it was still a decent read.
August 16, 2020
Good solid adventure story.
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January 28, 2023Proxy read for 'Death of the Dragon'
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