The cover of Shadows of Doom. Swirling blue stuff obscures most of the image, but Elminster is visible in the foreground gesturing dramatically in a red robe and big hat. He has a long white beard and a pipe in his mouth.

Shadows of Doom

“I thought it was bad in Salvatore’s books when the last third of a novel would be one long running battle, but Shadows of Doom is practically nothing but combat — an entire book of meaningless violence with practically no plot and only occasional pauses for breath.”

The cover of The Giant Among Us. In the background, a two-headed giant unconvincingly breaks through a wall. In the foreground, a conventionally attractive blond man uses a shield to protect a conventionally attractive blond woman. Everyone looks like they were traced from photo reference.

The Giant Among Us

“We’re once again in not-quite-the-Realms, where only a single brief reference to ‘the continent of Faerûn’ establishes that we’re actually in the Forgotten Realms and not in some random standalone fantasy trilogy.”