The Godborn by Paul S. Kemp
Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC
Anticipated Publication Date: October 1
In this installment of the new 52 of the DnD world Paul S. Kemp brings a variety of characters into the world of the Spellplague and the Chosen. Don’t be fooled, even though it’s a part of the same series this book has nothing to with The Companions other than a few tenuous references to the same worldly challenges. Still Kemp delivers a world that is just as vibrant as the one in The Companions and a story that, for the most part, keeps a fast pace and holds your interest.
Unlike The Companions I had no prior knowledge of the characters in Kemp’s The Godborn and I’m not sure if it’s simply because of this difference or a difference in writerly craft, but Kemp’s characters just didn’t stay with me the way Drizzt and Cattiebrie do. I enjoyed the story of the half-shadowvar Vason Cale…but I didn’t particularly care about him…which made it a lot harder to get invested in an already dense plot.
The gods of Kemps novel (or devils depending on your theological background) are based both in mythology and the DnD universe, the most memorable of them being Mephistopheles, the demon of Christianity, Faust, and, apparently, table top gaming combined. The war of the gods didn’t make as much sense in The Godborn as in The Companions but the actual motivation for the war (stopping the end of the world from a nihilistic goddess who eats universes) made a lot more sense to me than the previous book. So I guess in terms of realisticness The Godborn wins.
Another aspect of Kemp’s novel I really enjoyed was the pure fantastical value of the plot and setting. This is a much darker world than normally portrayed in fantasy but it feels real. Kemp has thought of all the details to make this dark, disturbing world at war. Even the relationship of Garek and Elle rings true, and I wish more time had been devoted to them and their village.
By the end this installment in the series left me feeling ambivalent. The beginning of the story is drawn out and the ending is rushed, leaving questions unanswered or answered in a rushed, unsatisfactory way. The story was good, the setting excellent, but it didn’t bring back any of those warm, fuzzy, adventurer feelings I have when I think about fantasy.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.
