Queen of the Demonweb Pits / Paul Kidd

Queen of the Demonweb Pits

category: fantasy, author:

Paul Kidd

book 5? of Greyhawk
original copyright 2001,
read in December 2010 (and before, in March 2009)

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

Action, fighting, magic... cute fairies, doe-eyed lovers, some nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more... With a villain so evil that you just have to laugh. Not a great book but an easy and enjoyable read.

Cities are destroyed, millions killed, slaves are eaten like popcorn. Yet you can be sure that the good guys will survive... Or, at least, that they will not be dead for long. This is a fairy-tale with a happy ending.

This book just has to be aimed at the "young adult" market. (Even though I enjoyed it and I'm certainly no young adult.) A young adult fantasy -- with a challenging adult idea thrown in, for good measure:

There are demons and monsters and gods, all from other "planes" of existence. There are the "physical" planes, lots of them, where mortals live. And when mortals die, their immortal souls travel to the "spirit" planes. Simple enough, so far.

Some of the spirit planes are populated by demons and monsters, the source of the stories of a hell in the afterlife. After life -- ie in death -- human souls may end up in a demonic plane, being tormented by the resident demons. Nothing too challenging in that idea.

But what about the "good" souls?

If you worship a particular god then that god will claim your soul when you die. Unfortunately, the gods of the Demonweb Pits universe are simply beings with greater-than-human powers. Your chosen god will claim your soul -- and turn your soul into an immortal slave.

Gods and demons are all very similar beings, all fighting for your soul, offering various inducements to try to seal the soul-sale contract before you die. Once you die, your soul becomes a tool, to help your new owner in its efforts to gain power and influence over all of the other gods and demons...

An interesting view. Perhaps, even a thought-provoking challenge to accepted views. This may simply be a contrivance to support an otherwise unbelievable (but enjoyable!) plot. Or it could be a sneak attack on establishment views; an alternative idea to help young adults to look beyond the heavy black box of conventional thinking.

Or it may even be, that I'm a cynical old person who sees challenging ideas in the simplest of fantasy novels :-)

And that's not my only bias...

Isn't it great to see that the author, Paul Kidd, is a West Australian!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.