The New York Times best-seller is now in paperback!

Now available in paperback, Condemnation is the third title in an epic Forgotten Realms series about one of the most popular races in the setting. Best-selling author R.A. Salvatore wrote the prologue to Condemnation and continues to consult on the series, lending his expertise as the author who brought drow society to the forefront of the Forgotten Realms setting.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 31 reviews)

Now we're getting somewhere

Disagreeing with most of the other reviewers here, IMO this is the best book of the series so far. Baker's straightforward writing style is a refreshing change that makes the book much quicker and easier to read. Additionally, the addition of Nimor Imphraezl and the Jaezred Chaulssin gives a whole new perspective to the story, making for more of an epic feel, something that was missing from the first two books. Telling the story from Hallistra's perspective sat fine with me, as we get a much better understanding of this character (who is going through some rather drastic changes) in this book. The thing I liked the most about this book, however, was that the reader finally learns so much about the true causes of the drow's troubles.

As Nimor schemes to bring about the downfall of the Lolth-worshiping drow, and Pharaun and Co. travel throughout Faerun to determine the cause of Lolth's silence, momentous events are taking shape that will greatly influence the direction of the story. The Druegar of Gracklstugh and the demons of Kaanyr Vhok plan together to bring about the downfall of Menzoberranzan, fielding a massive army without the knowledge of the drow leadership. The lich lord of Agrach Dyrr (another new character that adds greatly to the book) plots along with them and ends up confronting Gromph Baenre in a fantastic battle. And of course Quenthel and her companions face all manner of adversaries on the surface, in the Underdark, and in more mystical places during their quest.

While there are a number of inconsistencies when compared to the other two books, I didn't find them too distracting, and some of them could be explained by changes within the characters. The one that seemed to upset most of the other reviewers the most, involving the sudden appearance of Jeggred, must have been corrected in the printing I read. Instead, Ryld is asked to carry both Valas and Danifae (which in itself was somewhat inconsistent with the first book).

Overall, this book progresses the overall story to a great degree and is just as enjoyable as the previous two.

December 19, 2007

Good story, but suffers slightly in continuity.

I had an ok time reading this book. It carried the story along as it should and introduced some intriguing new characters but it didn't follow some of the details from previous books. Most of it I could overlook as the sort of thing one expects when dealing with multiple authors, but one or two changes put my teeth on edge and made me wonder if the author really read the other books fully.

The most notable to me was the fact that in previous books Phaerun was the one to advance and pursue talking to another religious sect in hopes to gain clues to Lolth's disappearance. Valas merely mentioned who they might approach and that he could take them there. In this book the whole party, without build up or warning, turns on Valas as the source of the idea and a potential heretic to boot. Phaerun makes a very weak statement in Valas' defense but behaves entirely as if he never had a part in the plan.

All the characters changed somewhat, most to no detriment. Phaerun changed a little too much for my liking, though. Phaerun of old was a flamboyant, pithy kind of fellow with the most charming sense of when and when not to pick at Quenthel. He's foppish, sophisticated, and extremely self indulgent. He's still fun in this book but he's less flamboyant and more hard edged than expected. Instead of charming he's slightly irritating with occasional bad timing and more folksy dialogue.

There are other inconsistances explored in other reviews but I more blame the editor than the author for continuity. I still recommend picking this book up. One can still enjoy the story as the basic dynamics between all the characters are still in play. New developments are put forth that keep you interested and will be important for later books.
July 31, 2007

A strong entry that is action packed and a MUST read in the series

I really enjoyed this book in the series. The previous edition "Insurrection" was pretty good, but left something to be desired to me. While Reid did a good job with drow nature, the book somehow didn't keep me excited, aside from occasional parts. Condemnation seems to have filled that void much better. read on, and don't worry... no spoilers :-)

Richard Baker does a good job continuing the negative banter between Quenthel and Pharaun, although it does seem as if Quenthel loses a lot of her "authority" here. It seems by now, the master of sorcere would have been beaten down! As for the end of this book, it is highly climactic and had me turning pages to see what was going to happen next! Although the result of a big event near the end of the book was somewhat abrupt, you cant expect much different given the circumstances. Without creating a spoiler, I can tell you that the ending is intense and explodes with confrontation and realization.

Bakers writing approach is solid, straight forward and made what I thought to be a pretty easy read with good flow. I can honestly say this book is a must in the series that cannot be skipped by inpatients wanting to jump ahead in the series! There are many events in this book that act as a bridge in the series one would be lost without.

Recommended. better than Insurrection imo and on par with Dissolution, just strong in different ways. I really enjoyed Richard Bakers writing style and will most likely read more of his work in the near future.
May 10, 2007

ok.

This is the 1st book I read in the series because of unfortunate circumstances (but I have bought every book in the series). It's a good book, the one thing that I think needed ALLOT more work is describing the action (fighting scenes) it made me conclude that this writer does not have a great sense of imagination when is comes to this category and in a book about dark elves it was very lacking. However I am intrigue to see what the other writers can do.
June 30, 2006

boring and stupid

The worst one of the series so far. Doesn't even seem part of the same series. Richard Baker you suck!!
May 24, 2006

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Insurrection (Forgotten Realms: R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Book 2)
by Thomas M. Reid

Extinction (Forgotten Realms: R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider, Book 4)
by Lisa Smedman

Annihilation: R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Book V (Forgotten Realms: R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider)
by Philip Athans

Resurrection (Forgotten Realms: R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Book 6)
by Paul S. Kemp

Dissolution (Forgotten Realms: R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Book 1)
by Richard Lee Byers