Dissolution: A Book Review

I've nearly finished reading the next book in this saga, so about time I got the first review posted I think. dissolution by Richard Lee Byers is a Forgotten Realms novel and the first book in the six part War of the Spider Queen saga. Each book in the saga is written by a different author, all following one epic storyline covering the events that unfold when Lolth the Demon Queen of Spiders and the tyrannical goddess of the subterranean Drow (dark elves) suddenly and inexplicably falls silent. She answers no prayers and grants no spells to her clergy.

Since her clergy are all female and they have ruled the drow race with ruthless ambition for millennia, to say that they are terrified of this news becoming known would be a huge understatement. But as the days become weeks, their loss of power becomes harder to hide, not least from the males of their race who have been second class citizens for a VERY long time. Since sorcery is exclusively taught to males and they retain their spells, this puts the priestesses at a considerable disadvantage should the truth become known.

This book begins several weeks after Lolth's silence began. Set in the forbidding underground metropolis of Menzoberranzan, the largest of the cities of the Drow, it begins many plot threads that will doubtless flow through the rest of the series, as well as introducing most of the primary characters (though several don't make their debut until the second book). Those characters are: Gromph Baenre (Archmage of the city and the Master of Sorcere, the wizard school. The most powerful wizard of the Drow race), his sisters Triel Baenre (Matron Mother of House Baenre and uncrowned ruler of the city) and Quenthel Baenre (Mistress of Arach-Tinilith, the school for priestesses). Pharaun Mizzrym (a powerful wizard) and his companion Ryld Argith (a Master of Melee-Magthere the warrior school), Faeryl Zauvirr (Amabassador from the Drow city of Ched Nasad) and Jeggred (A Draegoloth, half-drow/half-demon and Triels's son and faithful bodyguard).

To say reading this book was an experience would be an understatement. I've never before read a novel without a single good aligned person in it. There isn't one here. Every single last one of the characters in this book are evil to the core. This makes for some utterly compelling reading, as you really never know what any of them are going to do next... well okay you can be pretty sure they'll scheme, backstab, murder and bicker a lot. That goes without saying, they are Drow after all, a race of black skinned, white haired elves with red eyes and souls entirely devoted to chaos and evil.

My favourite character would have to be Pharaun, who has the misfortune to be a quick witted genial conversationalist born into a race almost entirely without a sense of humour. Still, while it is fun to read his chatty banter, in the course of this one book he smothers a woman to death, leaves his best friend for dead, massacres a patrol of guards to get some attention and kills his own sister!

I loved this book and unsurprisingly it gets full marks from me, 5/5. If you like dark fantasy then you should love this series!