The Crystal Mountain

Forgotten Realms: The Empyrean Odyssey #3

by Thomas M. Reid

What could bring heaven to the depths of hell?

Aliisza betrayed her lover, her mentor, and her son in order to try to stop the dark plot to kill the goddess Mystra. She failed. Now the goddess is dead, magic is malfunctioning, and Aliisza and her companions are trapped. Her only hope of escape lies is in convincing the angels and demons she just betrayed to trust her and work together — before they kill each other.

Genres: Forgotten Realms, Fantasy, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Ebooks, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy

311 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 7, 2009

About the author

Thomas M. Reid grew up in Dallas, Texas as an enthusiastic Dungeons & Dragons player. He performed at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival with his high school jazz band. After obtaining a degree in history at the University of Texas in 1989, he moved to Wisconsin and began working for TSR, Inc., a Dungeons & Dragons publisher, then moved on to be an editor for Dragon, a Dungeons & Dragons magazine. Not long after, he moved back to Texas to be a freelance roleplaying game writer.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable, but long trodden end to the trilogy. There was a lot going on with the death of Mystra at the end of the last book, and the spell plague, and… a lot of other things. I feel like there were several other books about the death of the gods and subsequent impact that could have been briefly explained in this one. Because they weren’t, events suddenly ended and afflictions weirdly continued, all of which were present in a significant portion of the book. I was personally left feeling like a bunch of threads were unresolved…

That being said, the character growth of many of the characters was what made the book shine. Tauran took a back seat to allow Aliisa and Kael room to grow, and like in the previous novels they were fighting the question about themselves vs. their heritages. Kaanyr didn’t grow much, but instead regressed, and that was a big plot point to the story.

All in all this trilogy was a fun read, especially considering i randomly picked the books out of a pile with no context as to what I was getting into. haha

[Kagan Oztarakci · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Never get caught up too much in duty, honor, and sacrifice"..."Not because they're not worth it or because they leave you hollow and wanting in old age" He drew a deep breath "No it's because those things are inevitably tied to someone else's agenda, my dear boy. And by the time you discover their agenda and yours are no longer compatible, it's usually too late."

"Hope is a cruel thing"..."Maybe it's better to live without it."

[thomas price]

Good of bye Vhok and Alisa

I loved the series. The charecters are great and just work so well together. Looking forward to reading more of his fantastic books

[Baden Kjarsgaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOILERS

It was enjoyable and interesting at times but it also had a lot that was mediocre . I was disappointed in the ending and with how many loose ends seemed to be left unanswered (the magic storms most of all) how the final battle was resolved came right out of left field almost as if the author didn't have a good idea as to how it should end and simply said "Well this works" and went with it.
The inclusion of a certain character from the War of the spider queen was quite nice but they really weren't around enough to make a difference.
The entire plot with Eirwyn was difficult to follow and in the end didn't seem to contribute much to the story
I may have just written several paragraphs about what I didn't like but the book wasn't all bad. The inclusion of the balor, the descriptions of the landscape. I did still mostly enjoy the book

All in all, this was a typical Forgotten realms book. A fun read with not a lot of depth.

[Elias Sakellaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely the most interesting book of the trilogy. The plot is better than the previous books, despite I continued not caring much about the relations between the protagonists. Especially Kael's story was poor and never gave us a payoff. I enjoyed though the connection with the War of the spider queen series and Pharaun's appearance.

The Blood War battles kept me thrilled and there was an even greater battle at the end of the book.
Taking advantage of Spellplague's chaos a demonic army took a chance to invade the House of the Triad. This excellent battle ended with Bahamut's dragon saving the day. I would like very much to see an artistic depiction of this.

4/5

All in all about the series, Thomas is a great author. The concept of the trilogy is great and it is connected with the great War of the Spider Queen series. The execution could be much better and it would definitely make those books more popular.

[E J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat rushed. Most of the characters lose their "character" and talk alike, especially towards the final confrontation where it all becomes a bit of an undistinguishable fest. But a decent conclusion to the trilogy nonetheless. I would've liked to see how Kael turned out, but alas, it'll never be. Fuck you, WotC.

[Danny B · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointment. This series had a ton of potential but just got sidetracked more and more. Towards the end it became less about the characters and their adventures, and more of a tool for WotC to push the Spellplague and the change into 4e. These characters deserved better.

[Drizztl · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

[Benjamin Hesdorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I don't know what to say, but I'm sure going to miss the characters from this series.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Crystal Mountain by Thomas M. Reid concludes The Empyrean Odyssey trilogy. This book picks up directly after the events of the Fractured Sky. The main plots of The Crystal Mountain begins with Aliisza, Kaanyr Vhok, Kael Tauran, Zasian, Myshik, and Micus trying to find a way out of their predicament while Eirwyn has been called upon to divine what the future holds for the planes. These plots intertwine later to defense of/battle for the celestial plane. A couple subplots added are the relationship between Vhok, Aliisza, and Tauran, a character’s ambitions as events unfold as well as their previous goal, and a couple others that would involve spoilers.

The pacing of this novel is a little faster than the previous two, The Gossamer Plain and The Fractured Sky. The battles are more engaging and longer. The flow is the same being that once there is a great place to add a cliff hanger for the time being, Mr. Reid shifts to other characters. This does make for irritation at times in the beginning because the shift usually went to Eirwyn’s plot line which was not as interesting as it could have been. Later in the book, the shifts were spot on and added to the suspense.

The characters still have the same appeal to me that they did in the second book. Each had their own voice and agendas. Some new and old secondary characters add nicely to this one such as Vhissilka and Lord Axithar a balor. The other secondary character is spoiler related. There is also a good amount of character development. I still don’t feel that the characters and story were on par with The Scions of Arrabar trilogy, but this book was right up there. There was an even amount of plot pushing the characters as well as character decisions to move the plot along.

There are a couple really good plot twists with this one but here is also another element I would say was more of a tweak. This happens with the addition of one of the secondary characters and what Mr. Reid did with the characters of Myshik and Micus. After seeing how the author uses these tweaks, it makes the story much more enjoyable. Another tweak happens to Aliisza.

A couple criticisms:

1. Eirwyn’s plotline to me could have been contrived a bit better. I just couldn’t connect very well with her in the beginning. Eventually, what happens makes sense, but it didn’t go over well for me. Also with her plotline, there is a big gap between a few chapters that I had to stop and go back to try and figure out how things got that way.

2. Some things felt forced plot wise such as Eirwyn’s. I wonder if WotC was able to let Mr. Reid work some of his magic with writing but also kept a loose leash on him so that the story could move to fit in the now 4E.

Some positives:

1. As I mentioned before, the tweaks that are added enhance the story significantly. There were some really nice and nasty surprises that I really enjoyed.

2. This is actually throughout the trilogy, but it is also detailed more in this book. That is the far reaching effects of the events that propel the FR into the 4E. Not only is Faerun affected, but also the planes and some of the Gods as well.

3. The characters were more fleshed out and easier to connect with this time. Their peril was more life threatening and exciting. Also, it wasn’t just the plot pushing them to go here or there all the time. The movement was well balanced.

When I look back, this was a good ending to a decent trilogy. I don’t think there will be much more that will be written about the past. This trilogy pretty much cements everything into the $E realms. The world is now a new place and things were fun back then and I can only imagine the surpri8ses and fun that will show up in the future. For realms fans, this is a good addition to the 4E transition and explains the future lore from the Triad perspective. I still believe that newbies to the realms may want to start elsewhere to get a better taste of it before venturing further with this trilogy.

-Dimndbangr

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up the omnibus version of this trilogy after having completed the War of the Spider Queen series several months ago. Several of the characters in that series now have a trilogy of their own, which are bundled in this omnibus.

The Empyrean Odyssey is a good read and it provides more insight into both protagonists whom we had only learned about briefly before. They are both half-fiends, which is interesting, because the book has to somehow portray they as evil while still connecting with the reader. Thomas M Reid does an admirable job at that. The book's plot focuses on Kaanyr Vhok's obsession with vengeance for an old enemy; plotting to destroy him from within after direct attacks have failed. He uses a shapeshifted Aliisza to infiltrate his inner circle over time, but as it turns out that's but a secondary objective. The primary objective is to enter Celestia, the realm of the angels and the gods Torm, Tyr and Ilmater, by deceiving and risking Aliisza and her unborn child in a specific situation that causes the angels to intervene. Kaanyr has certain objectives in Celestia that will greatly enhance his power.

Once in Celestia, time flows differently, and Aliisza spends twelve years on the plain in the company of a Deva. During that time she's compelled to relive her past and see the suffering she's caused others during her capricious works with Kaanyr. She gives birth to the son she was pregnant with before being taken to Celestia, whom she doesn't meet until much later, when she's also reunited with Kaanyr who has been doublecrossed by others who had partoken in his deception with Aliisza. From there, the story carries you through several planes, plot twists, changes in personalities and allegiances and an eventual showdown not just between some of the main characters but also between other deities and planes.

The strong points of the book are the focus on personal growth, and inter-personal relationships between the main characters. Aliisza's story is told well and there are many subtleties to her interactions with Kaanyr, her son and the deva. You're never presented with situations that make you frown in disbelief as the changes are subtle and believable.

Its weak points are that much of the story established in the first third of the omnibus falls away when the main characters enter Celestia, and an important storyline and supporting character disappears for what I see as a less-than-excellent reason. The ending is also a bit disappointing; the destruction of both Kaanyr and the other faction's armies have a deus-ex-machina feel to it, as if the end were a bit rushed. However, those aren't the main focus of the story: the difficulties of coping with one's conscience, empathy, growth and change of heart are, and in that sense this an odd Forgotten Realms book. It's a very good read however and except for the few items I listed, it's excecuted wondrously.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Crystal Mountain by Thomas M. Reid- This is the last book in The Empyrean Odyssey trilogy, preceded by The Fractured Sky, being the second book, and The Gossamer Plains, the first. The story picks right up where The Fractured Sky left off and we find Tauran, Kael, Aliisza, Zasian Menz, Myshik, Micus, and Kaanyr Vhok all effected by the death of Mystra (The goddess of Magic).

I'll just simply reword what the description says on the back of the book. Kaanyr Vhok wants revenge on the angels that held him captive, and he is finally in the place to be able to. Aliisza is torn between her son, the angel that freed her, and her lover for her to swear her alliance.

Negatives:
1) Eirwyn. While she wasn't a bad character, her side story wasn't really interesting. Don't get me wrong, it did show the utter confusion of the High Council and did have a purpose, but it just seemed to drag on.

Positives:
1) Characters. The way Aliisza changed is remarkable. I've liked her before but now she really blew me away by being so changed and understanding of her lot in life. She grew greatly as a character in this one, more so than the earlier books. Kael also grew greatly within this book. He seemed to go from a main/ secondary character into someone who I want to read more about. Tauran was well written, and we can really feel sorry for him throughout the book. Vhok and his single-mindedness was just wonderful.
2) Return of one of my favorite characters. I can't give anything away, so I'll make this short. Seeing him return was just wonderful, and he still had the same vanity and humor as before.
3) Micus/ Myshik. What happens to them I was more than happy about. Once again, I can't give too much away, but it felt right and just that this happened.
4) The Spellplague. This is the first book that really showed what happened during it. I've read a couple before this, but it didn't really go into much detail. Now, however, seeing how destructive it is and how it corrupts a few characters really made me shiver.
5) The ending. It really wrapped up this trilogy very well. I'm happy with everything happening and how everything ended up. It just felt right.

Overall: 5/5
* I couldn't really find any major flaws in the story, and most of all the characters grew a lot and in a good way. *

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3, the final book of the Empyrean Odyssey starts off right after the end of book 2, where we saw the fall of Mystra unleash the Spellplague - a catastrophic event that affected the very fabric of magic and reality.

The pacing of the story is on the fast side, as we follow the protagonists in their attempts to survive the aftermath, and unpredictable effects, of the Spellplague. Along the way, we see a lot of character development, especially for Aliisza and Kael. For Aliisza, this is the final leg of her journey through redemption that started in book 1. I thought that it was very well done; it didn't feel contrived or forced, but very naturally so.

The author also uses the viewpoints of the other supporting characters to good effect, such as Eirwyn and Garin, to showcase things from perspectives different from those of the protagonists. There's even a nice surprise appearance of another character from an older series that I really enjoyed.

And since this series is set within a period of great upheaval, there's nothing like betrayals, demonic invasions, and changes in the ranks of the divinity to spice it up. The author very happily names the types of angelic beings that he brings onto the scene (archons, solars, planetars, etc.) but there appears to be a reluctance to liberally name the demonic counterparts. I couldn't quite recall the demon types although I do recognise some of the descriptions. But that's just nitpicking, since the flow is entirely unaffected.

I found the ending to be rather symbolic of a new beginning, probably to coincide with the dawn of the 4th Edition of D&D. I had expected a slightly lengthier ending, to dwell on reflections and closures, but it wasn't quite there. But still, the ending was touching and, as mentioned, symbolic. It was a satisfactory end to the series.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent end to the series, but it seems that the pivotal event, the murder of Mystra. Oh, and let's not forget that alternative ethical systems abound. Of course, the main character is a half-succubus. Let's not forget though, that if you're reading a D&D tie-in book for ethical advice, you've got more than a few problems.
However, there is a valid point that rigid obedience to a legal code is dangerous in the extreme. This doesn't mean that the situation dictates the ethical direction one must take, but rules and regulations are not the end all or be all of morality.
Another issue with this novel is that all the "gods" are merely mortals with superpowers, in the case of Mystra and Cyric even more so (see the Avatar series for the details). They are flawed, imperfect beings just like the men, elves and other mortals they are supposed to care for. Why should they be worshiped? The angels and demons (and devils, there's a distinction that I'll get to later) are so one-dimensional, even Tauran and Aliisza who are supposed to be growing and evolving.
The final issue that I have is that you have to read up on the Monsters Manual to know what hideous monstrosity is attacking our intrepid protagonists next. For example, did you know that demons are different than devils? Did you know that demons are devoted to increasing chaos, whereas devils are structured by deals and allegiances and follow masters to promote evil? Well, brush up on your D&D monsters before you start, 3rd edition.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decent read. I enjoyed it the most out of the three. I liked all the plane hoping and planes at war. I cannot say I am pleased with the editorial decision to entirely change the forgotten realms. I mean they changed the world, the geography, the multiverse..... I just don't think that the world has the same feel that it once had. In any case that was a tangent. I also liked seeing Pharaun again, he is awesome. The pacing was really quick, but it did bring everything together in the end.

Interesting side note, I wonder what happened to Vhok's army back home.

Overall an decent ending to an ok series.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in this saga sees Celestia (Heaven) nearly torn apart as a horde of demons invade. Our redeemed fiend meets a tragic end that leaves only her son, the orphaned drow paladin, Kael, as the last witness to this unlikely group's final sacrifice. The realms are restored to order, but they are forever changed.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not the best in the series. There were a lot of loose ends to tie up and I just felt it tried to be too 'big'. Too many things going one.

[Michael Ware · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good, but could have been so much better. They had epic heroes and villians and Realms changing events along with the death of gods, yet seemed a little bland.