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Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate is a novel of 246 pages written by Philip Athans. Its release closely follows the blockbuster success of the Baldur's Gate Computer RPG, and features many of the same characters.

Before one even opens to the first page, a myriad of expectations and thoughts are evoked. First, how good or creative can a book be which is based on a computer game? How much freedom can a writer have in such a framework? Next, what can a book based on a game possibly do for someone who has played through the game? Talk about reading the last page. Given the low standards of the TSR-churn-'em-out philosophy of publishing which was spawned by the success of the original Dragonlance series, my expectations were abysmal indeed going into this novel.

The story starts with a bang, in the midst of a gory battle. Within a handful of pages, it becomes clear that Abdel, the main character, is something of a sick homicidal maniac. I, who have finished the game, instantly saw where this was going, then it truly dawned on me how little suspense and excitement the book would provide. Next, issues of how the game writers intended the characters be portrayed, and how the author actually portrays them crop up. I found myself thinking that many characters were almost different people. I soon found myself disliking the main character, in addition to finding his principles to be bizarrely inconsistent. For instance, he enjoys murdering people, but he has issues with taking stolen money. How believable can someone like this be?

When a reviewer delivers an opinion, he will usually tend to want to have nice things to say. He will want to end the review on a positive note, saying there is something of value there. He will want to give credit to the author/designer, who is another human being with feelings, a human being who put a lot effort and dedication, and perhaps, a lot of himself, into the work he is reviewing. At other times, the reviewer is looking from a distance, frequently judging cynically, able to escape the onus of the judgements he is himself delivering, thus insulated from the consequences of his own deeds. I hope my review does not sound like this latter sort. I want to err on the side but generosity, but there is little room in this case.

Put bluntly, I did not like this book at all. By the time I was one quarter through the book, couldn't take it anymore. I found myself loathing the main character, and that made it extremely hard to care about him. Perhaps there is some skilled craft in the author's wordsmithing; if so, I found myself too distracted and isolated by the nature of the book's content to notice. I struggle to think of anything complimentary to say about it.

I am sure that there are people somewhere who will enjoy this book. There may even be people somewhere who find something of value in it, most likely by following the theme of destroying or banishing "the evil inside of us". But anyone who has played the computer role-playing game will find that knowing the plot takes away most suspense. Perhaps such persons might find it interesting to see how another "played the game", if you will. I am simply not any of the above. I do not recommend this book.

This book would be most interesting to someone who has not played the crpg, and who has a strong tolerance of murderous individuals. If you are such a person, the book may be enjoyable to you. Otherwise, I advise you to steer clear of this one.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)

Baldur's Gate
Author: Philip Athans Category: Novel Company/Publisher: TSR Line: Forgotten Realms Page count: 246 Capsule Review by Mike McKenzie on 12/06/99. Genre tags: Fantasy	Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate is a novel of 246 pages written by Philip Athans. Its release closely follows the blockbuster success of the Baldur's Gate Computer RPG, and features many of the same characters. Before one even opens to the first page, a myriad of expectations and thoughts are evoked. First, how good or creative can a book be which is based on a computer game? How much freedom can a writer have in such a framework? Next, what can a book based on a game possibly do for someone who has played through the game? Talk about reading the last page. Given the low standards of the TSR-churn-'em-out philosophy of publishing which was spawned by the success of the original Dragonlance series, my expectations were abysmal indeed going into this novel. The story starts with a bang, in the midst of a gory battle. Within a handful of pages, it becomes clear that Abdel, the main character, is something of a sick homicidal maniac. I, who have finished the game, instantly saw where this was going, then it truly dawned on me how little suspense and excitement the book would provide. Next, issues of how the game writers intended the characters be portrayed, and how the author actually portrays them crop up. I found myself thinking that many characters were almost different people. I soon found myself disliking the main character, in addition to finding his principles to be bizarrely inconsistent. For instance, he enjoys murdering people, but he has issues with taking stolen money. How believable can someone like this be? When a reviewer delivers an opinion, he will usually tend to want to have nice things to say. He will want to end the review on a positive note, saying there is something of value there. He will want to give credit to the author/designer, who is another human being with feelings, a human being who put a lot effort and dedication, and perhaps, a lot of himself, into the work he is reviewing. At other times, the reviewer is looking from a distance, frequently judging cynically, able to escape the onus of the judgements he is himself delivering, thus insulated from the consequences of his own deeds. I hope my review does not sound like this latter sort. I want to err on the side but generosity, but there is little room in this case. Put bluntly, I did not like this book at all. By the time I was one quarter through the book, couldn't take it anymore. I found myself loathing the main character, and that made it extremely hard to care about him. Perhaps there is some skilled craft in the author's wordsmithing; if so, I found myself too distracted and isolated by the nature of the book's content to notice. I struggle to think of anything complimentary to say about it. I am sure that there are people somewhere who will enjoy this book. There may even be people somewhere who find something of value in it, most likely by following the theme of destroying or banishing "the evil inside of us". But anyone who has played the computer role-playing game will find that knowing the plot takes away most suspense. Perhaps such persons might find it interesting to see how another "played the game", if you will. I am simply not any of the above. I do not recommend this book. This book would be most interesting to someone who has not played the crpg, and who has a strong tolerance of murderous individuals. If you are such a person, the book may be enjoyable to you. Otherwise, I advise you to steer clear of this one. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)