Star of Cursrah is one of my personal favorite Forgotten Realms novels. It’s among the best ones that I’ve read, and it really is a shame that most people haven’t even heard of this one. For whatever reason, it’s fairly unheard of. Anyone who has the opportunity to pick it up, I’d recommend it. Though it’s poignant to the theme of the book, I wish that overall, Star of Cursrah was not “lost to the wind”, as a character in the novel says of Cursrah itself. Having reread it, it seems that some of my fond memories of the book stem from looking back at it in rosy-colored glasses, but the novel still ranks up there, among the best.In reality, Star of Cursrah is not just a single book; it’s two books in one! The story has two plotlines going on, totally unrelated to each other until the later portions of the novel. Having read it twice now, and having the benefit of hindsight, I think that certain portions of the two storylines were written a little too similarly. It’s one thing to see how two protagonists were very alike (being as that would play into the information revealed later in the book), but I think it gets a little bit much when we have two scenes that unfold almost exactly, concerning those two protagonists, with thousands of years passing in the between.I find Calimshan and it’s history an interesting subject, but even people who dislike Calimshan will, I think, have to agree that the depth and detail that Star of Cursrah demonstrates is great. Reading through the novel, it feels as if the author had all available sourcebooks detailing Calimshan at his side. Clayton Emergy did a masterful job weaving into his story all kinds details, from the physical depictions given of Calimshan, to Calashite history and culture, all in a way to make it feel unobtrusive. One of my own criticisms when I write is that, too often, I will “waste” sentences going into, elaborating on, and explaining details that I bring up. In Star of Cursrah, the author is able to bring up, explain, and make relevant all kinds of minor details that greatly enrich the story and reading experience without wasting any space.The characters in this novel aren’t my favorite, I’ll admit. I’ve mentioned this in the past, I’m not that big of a fan of the “dirty heroine”, the tom-boyish, pull-back-her-hair-and-do-it-herself female lead. It’s not that I dislike the archetype, but I feel that in the Forgotten Realms, it’s used a little too much. In this novel, there is Amber “and” Star. In other novels, there’s Cattie-Brie, Storm Silverhand, Ivy of the Siegebreakers…At the same time, I understand there are plenty of other character archetypes that are used over and over and over again, so it’s not just limited to this one phenomenon. I’d like to see more…expansion, for a lack of better words. Asides for that, though, the characters were decent. I tend to prefer novels where characters aren’t mighty magicians, or great warriors. “Midling level” characters normally have to solve their problems with whatever limited resources they have at their disposal, which often makes for a better story. Who wants to read a novel where the protagonists snaps his/her fingers and solves his/her problem within the first ten pages? The antagonists, the evil viziers, and Sharrans (that’s a proper way to depict Sharrans, for future reference!), princes, necromancers, and priest-lords…Very good villains.My favorite part is, ultimately, how the storyline taking place in the past is resolved, making it relevant to the storyline going on in the present. The city of Cursrah being protected by Ibrandul against invaders from Oxonsis, the mad bakkal’s plan to seal himself and others in stasis beneath the sand until the proper time, a certain protagonist being mummified, and eventually getting revenge.
After a lukewarm and rather disappointing first pair of entries in the Lost Empires series, I was quite pleasantly surprised by Clayton Emery's entry. Not only did I find Emery's writing to be more articulate than Denning or Odom's, but the story, while no more novel than either "The Lost Library Of Cormanthyr" or "Faces Of Deception", was executed in a far more interesting fashion.The parallel stories of Amber and princess Amenstar made little sense at the beginning of the book, and I admit to
