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Read Annihilation (2005)

Annihilation (2005)

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Author
Genre
Rating
4.05 of 5 Votes: 3
Your rating
ISBN
0786937521 (ISBN13: 9780786937523)
Language
English
Publisher
wizards of the coast

Annihilation (2005) - Plot & Excerpts

This is my favorite book of the War of the Spider Queen saga! Philip Athans is an author that gives all that I could ask for. He writes the drow as vivid, and ruthless, as I've come to expect. The battle still rages on with the spiders that Lolth has given to birth to herself. Of those females left, the ones of uncontrollable hunger, simple self defense, and instinctual survival are all dead now. Only the strongest with the best cunning remain, waiting on the other’s next move. Because only one can reign supreme. Gromph begins by setting right to his handicap of being blind. No longer dependant to use his familiar, Kyorli to see. With the aid of the traitorous House Agrach Dyrr, he has chosen one exceptionally weak drow, to take his new eyes from. In order to save Menzoberranzan, he must defeat the lichdrow of House Agrach Dyrr. Through this battle between powerful sorcerers, the Anointed Blade is brought out, and we now learn what he truly is! Quenthal is growing quite mad while aboard the chaos ship. They can not set sail for the Abyss until they are re-supplied. In Sschindylryn, Valas re-supplies the company while Danifae gains her freedom, no longer a battle captive. Now she returns with Valas with revenge in her heart. She takes control of Jaggred whom she sends to kill Ryld Argith, and discovers Hallistra’s conversion to the goddess Eilistraee. Hallistra struggles between her love to Ryld and the devotion to Eilistraee. He doubts that she can kill the Queen of Spiders, even with such a sword as the Crescent Blade. Quenthal is quite jealous over loosing Jaggred, has some secrets of her own that she shares with the Menzoberranyrns. Ultimately she is consumed of reaching Lolth in the flesh. Pharaun is reacquainted with an old friend, or fiend, Aliisza, who is not only able to fulfill her commitment to Kaanyr Vhok but is able to teach Pharaun to sail the ship without the help of the captain, Raashub. A bumpy ride from the Lake of Shadows, to the Abyss answers some questions. Lolth has removed the sixty-sixth layer to a dimension of its own. No one thought this possible. And a shock wave is felt through out Faerun. The priestesses now feel and know of Lolth’s return!

A 1.5The worst book I have read in at least a year. Very lazy writing. The author seemed to invent problems that needed invented solutions. Characters had just the right item/spell for just such a perilous situation. The flow of constant “peril” was tiresome. I was especially annoyed by the city of portals which seems way, way too convenient and not well thought through. The two great duels were painful to read. Ryld & Jeggred’s battle was bad, but Dyrr & Gromph’s was abysmal. At times split seconds in spellcasting was everything, then at other times both took ages to do nothing. How does that make sense? Magic is always a bit vague, but it seemed nonsensical. The characters that have been building for 5 books hardly seemed the same. I realize it might be hard for an author to pick up the characters, but truly this was awful. For self-torture alone I will get around to the last book in the series. Halfling Heaven was moderately cute.

What do You think about Annihilation (2005)?

What can I say, other than I'm a -bit- of a drow fangirl, and to finally have the opportunity to read a series where a group of dark elves are, y'know... acting like drow, instead of centering on one goodie-two-shoes individual, made me squee with delight.I loved the politicking and conniving done by, and general unpleasantness of, the characters in this whole series, to the point that I was more than willing to forgive a couple of plot holes and narrative errors, not to mention the sudden changes in select character traits when each new author picked up the series.
—Heather Carter

This is definitely my favorite of the series so far. There is a Dragon Ball Z style battle that spans 200+ pages, which is phenomenal! Some of the main characters finally face off, which is also epic and intense. I really couldn't call who would win right up until it ended. I can't wait to see the fallout from that! There was a particularly clever spot where the first humans in the series get caught up in the action. The author switches point of view to each of them and it really puts into perspective how outmatched humans are to drow. The bit ends with one of the funniest lines I have ever read! This really ended on a fantastic note and I can't wait to finish the series. The next author has his work cut out for him. Things have built up on many fronts, spanning the planes in true R.A. Salvatore fashion!
—Donald Reynolds

This book in the series is somewhat difficult for me to review. There are many parts I enjoyed, namely the ongoing battle between the lich drow Dyrr and Gromph Baenre, but also parts that weren't good and seemed to just "fill up space". First off I feel this book makes for the largest departure in character personality and attitude. A certain degree of character difference is to be expected from different authors in such a series, but this book took some of the characters even farther out of their pre-written element. The first 4 books managed to maintain a certain character consistency that didn't seem to hold in this entry. Pharaun and Danifae in particular seemed to be the largest examples of this.As for the actual meat of the book and its place in the series, the first 3/4 of the book, while enjoyable, seemed to be sort of a filler rather than a true and necessary part of the story. This changed near the end though, when big and important events unfolded that will undoubtedly come to fruition in the final book, Resurrection.On the brighter side of things, I felt Athans did a good job of telling the story of Hallistra Melarn and her "new way of life". In contrast to some of the other reviews here, I believe it was not to far fetched and made perfect sense for the alienated priestess of House Melarn and the ruined Ched Nasad. I also thouroughly enjoyed the battle between Gromph and the lich drow. It was handled well and allowed for many a different spell and incantation to be unleashed, showing us the true power (and weakness) of the archmage of Menzoberranzan.All in all I think it was a pretty good book, but could have made more of an impact than it did. Having read it, I can't help but feel half of the book was unnecessary in the telling of this epic story! If I could rate this book 3.5 stars I would, but it was tough for me to give it the benefit of the doubt, when considering other books I've given 4 stars were better. I am looking forward to Resurrection though, as im sure there are big events to come!
—Doppelganger

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