Condemnation by Richard Baker, is a Forgotten Realms novel and the third part of the War of the Spider Queen saga. It continues almost exactly where Insurrection left off, only a few hours having passed in the time between the end of the previous book and the start of this one. The books beginning finds Halisstra, Danifae, Quenthel, Jeggred, Pharaun, Ryld and Valas taking shelter in a ruined city deep inside the borders of an unknown desert. It is night and the drow, for all their being used to living in the caves and tunnels of the Underdark, are both awed by the sight of the night sky above them and scared of it at the same time. The world they come from after all, has a roof! Too the desert at night is far colder than anything they are used too.
With Ched Nasad in ruins, Halisstra no longer has a home, indeed all she owns is what she is wearing, as well as her battle captive Danifae. The group are unsure now what to do. With Lolth's silence extending not just to other cities of the Drow, but to other races as well, the thought occurs to them that their goddess might be dead. Quenthel of course will hear none of this, but even she is confused and though she won't admit it, afraid. Pharaun suggests that rather than return to Menzoberranzan empty handed, they instead seek out another source of information. If they cannot find what has become of Lolth, perhaps another God can. In particular Vhaeraun, a male drow god and Lolth's own son.
To suggest such a thing is heresy, but Pharaun is powerfully persuasive and Quenthel is eventually swayed to his argument when Valas mentions knowing a priest of the God, one who owes him a favour. After a few battles with the denizens of the ruins, the group set off via a short cut... a trip through the Plane of Shadows, to another place below ground, a trade enclave called Mantol-Derith. From there they proceed across a vast underground lake to Gracklstugh, the City of Blades. Gracklstugh is primarily a Duergar (gray dwarf) city and as such the Drow are immediately cautious, not knowing whether the destruction of Ched Nasad by the Duergar mercenaries, was ordered by the ruler of the smoky metropolis.
Far more worrying though is the discovery Ryld and Valas make, when they spy out a nearby cavern in which a huge supply train is being assembled. Considering Menzoberranzan is the nearest major city to Gracklstugh and knowledge of Lolth's silence (and thusly the cities weakness without the magic of its priestesses) has reached the ears of the grey dwarves, the target for the army that the supplies are being readied for is obvious. Barely managing to flee with their lives, the group escape into a warren of tunnels known as the Labyrinth (which is predictably infested with Minotaurs), in the search for a drow tribe known as the Jaelre, the priest that Valas knows being one of them.
To say that there is a lot going on in this book would be to sell it very short and yet it never feels rushed. Everything above happens in the first half of the book, from there the story goes across half a continent to the great forest of Cormanthor, the ruined city of Myth Drannor and to the hellish wastes of Lolth's Demonweb Pits in the Abyss itself! Mr. Baker weaves a thrilling tale of a truly epic quest borne of desperation. Where before the quest was one of curiosity, now it becomes imperative that the drow find their goddess, as Menzoberranzan comes under siege from two armies (as Kaanyr Vhok's Scourged Legion joins the fight on the side of the Duergar army) and has to face a foe from within also.
As with the first two volumes of this six part saga, I'm awarding this novel 5/5, top marks for a brilliantly written book. I'm glad I waited until all 6 books were in paperback to read them, because waiting 6 months between installments of this series would have been agony! As it is I finished reading the fourth book today (I'm late writing this review) and have already begun the fifth!
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