Three are spoilers in this review. I'm reviewing this as an adult (over 40) who grew up playing D&D. I've read both books one and this installation of the Twilight Giants series. Overall I agree with what other reviewers are saying in that it is interesting to read a book dedicated to giants, giant kin and the creation story behind giants. The main characters are pretty well developed and likable (except perhaps Brianna). I'd like to know a bit more about why Tavis is so dedicated to her. In book one she spent a lot of time at the orphanage he was running and he apparently fell head over heels in love with her at that point. Apparently there aren't many women / female firbolgs in this part of the forgotten realms world. Overall the story moves and there are some good action sequences. I like how we read about Brianna's loss of clerical powers since she lost touch with her deity. A couple of things that seemed a bit of a stretch. While in stone giant form it apparently is harder to move than while in his normal Firbolg form, yet Tavis manages to walk across a glacier in a storm with an injured toe, then does battle with the frost giants in their lair (and wins), then hunts down Arlien and Hagmil through a blizzard and almost kills them. I was wondering where all of this strength was coming from because Tavis was apparently very tired even before he starts the march across the glacier. I don't like Arlien's weapon. It's clearly based on Mjolnir (Thor's Hammaer) but Thor's hammer was used to slay giants, not used by giants against humans. Give the Ettin a different magical weapon. I didn't' like how Selwyn and the Company of the Winter Wolf were used during the entire story. Is this not Tavis' elite unit? They are treated like cannon fodder throughout the whole story. They clearly had a larger role to play, particularly during the castle siege. Cuthbert's last stand seemed too fatalistic. Why not slip out of the back door when you have the cance (escorting your wife and kids to safety) and rebuild your ancestral castle? Nah, rush an all powerful ettin and face certain bone crushing death instead. 3 stars = "I liked it."
The second book in the "Twilight Giants" series, this one was pretty much on par with the first...maybe a little worse.There were definitely some cool things going on; neat magic, some pretty cool fights, fog giants and frost giants. However, there were somethings I didn't really like. I didn't like Princess Briana being a dimwit (even though she was under a spell, it only made it more annoying). I didn't like that hill giants were attacking a castle by lake...I know that this is fantasy, but it just didn't make sense. I didn't like the mamoths....and not the mamoths themselves, but the use of them as submarines seemed a bit much to me...A handsome Ettin seemed silly, too. I don't know. I like it when the authors really push the envelope and shape the world they are writting in, and somethings in this novel really did work well, but others definitely floundered.Still, I do enjoy this author and I've already started the last one in the trilogy...we'll see how it goes.
