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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780786940240
ISBN number: 0786940247
Label: Wizards of the Coast
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 308
Printing Date: May 08, 2007
Publishing house: Wizards of the Coast
Age index: Young Adult
Release Date: May 08, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 152604
Studio: Wizards of the Coast
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Product Description:
Ever wonder what could bring a demon to the gates of heaven?
Aliisza and Kaanyr Vhok have returned from their attempted invasion of Menzoberranzan and turned their sights on Sundabar. But before she can complete a mission in that beseiged city, Aliisza finds herself in the one place a demon would never want to go, no matter how sure she is of her wits and cunning: the very heart of Celestia!
Join everyone's favorite succubus and her half-fiend boyfriend, introduced in the War of the Spider Queen series, in the very first installment of their own exciting new trilogy!
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Rated by buyers 
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Reid's fancily titled book, The Gossamer Plain: The Empryean Odyssey, caught my eye while browsing for new books in the Forgotten Realms section. I was elated that a new series came out as an standalone offshoot from the latest Drizzt's book featuring the villain Kaanyr Vhok. 3 hours later, I finished the book, feeling significantly disappointed and unsatisfied.
The book is split into 2 main arcs, one follows the adventures of Kaanyr Vhok (a convincing and sometimes likable villain turned main protagonist) and the other trails Aliisza, Kaanyr's consort. Both arcs start off as seperate quests and eventually merge together at the end of the book.
The main reason for my initial dislike is that Aliisza's story is so poorly developed, utterly boring, and at times confounding (how she gets from point A to point B) that it is worth skipping over whenever Reid transitions to her. Kaanyr's story is infinitely more interesting yet still suffers from a lack of cohesion. The reader is left grasping at straws trying to understand why Kaanyr goes on this planes-spanning quest. Kaanyr himself comes off as too one-dimensional (always angry/annoyed). The battles in general were poorly conceived albeit thoroughly detailed. In addition, there were not enough supporting characters to flesh out the plot considering how insipid the main characters are at times. You just never get too excited about anything when reading this.
One of the mediocre books in the Forgotten Realms collection. I hope Book 2 can right the series.
Rated by buyers 
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I loved it! Great history lesson for the realms.
Rated by buyers 
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The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid is the very first book in the Empryean Odyssey trilogy. The second book in this trilogy is titled The Fractured Sky and is scheduled for release in November, 2008, the third book is titled The Crystal Mountain and is scheduled for release sometime in the middle of 2009. Mr. Reid very first burst on the Forgotten Realms scene with the second book in the War of the Spider Queen series titled Insurrection. Mr. Reid then went on to pen the Scions of Arrabar trilogy. Those three books are; The Sapphire Crescent, The Ruby Guardian, and The Emerald Scepter. All of the previously mentioned books are very much worth the read in my opinion.
For fans of the War of the Spider Queen series, many will be happy to know that this book continues the tale of two characters. Both Kaanyr Vhok and Aliiszra are featured in this novel. For many, these are two of the more memorable characters. For fans of the WotSQ series, Lisa Smedman has also just started a new trilogy with the very first book titled Sacrifice of the Widow and focuses on Hallisstra Melarn.
The plot of this book is a little hard to read at first, however, upon completing it and digesting all the nuggets that Mr. Reid puts out there, this novel seems like it is a set up for larger grander things. One of the main plots is a scheme of Vhok's, don't worry, I won't say what it is (I don't do spoilers), but the plot seems to be large in scale. Another plot involves a situation Aliiszra finds herself in that I am fairly sure will please many fans of the WotSQ series. The main plot of this book (Vhok's plot line) stretches far and encompasses many different places and scenarios. Such as the city of Sundabar, the plain of fire, and the City of Brass. Most of these places are well described with just enough information to give the reader an idea of what the scene looks like, but not enough that it comes off as telling the reader what to see. It's often a fine line, but Mr. Reid toes that line well in this book.
The characters in this book fall into three categories for me. The very first category is interesting and imaginative. There are about three characters that fall into this group Vhok is certainly one, another is Myshik, a half hobgoblin with some dragon blood (interesting mix there), and Zasian a human priest of Bane. The second category of characters is supporitive, but just there. In this group I would put Aliiszra and a few others. Nothing against these characters, but they didn't grab me all that much. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of Aliiszra in the WotSQ series either. The last group of characters are the ones I could have done without, or that needed something more to be interesting. The main one in this group is Tauran, whom is an angel of Tyr. To me he had little personality and the scenes he was in were a drag and a couple times I wanted to skip them. He just had little personality and I found little motivation to read about him.
With that said, overall this book is a solid addition to the Forgotten Realms. It almost seemed as though, due to the plot, Mr. Reid was constrained in some way as his normal writing style (at least what I perceive to be his normal style) didn't seem as evident in this book. I did enjoy the further fleshing out of Vhok, he seems to have great potential to become a powerful force in the Realms. The twist at the end of the book was a nice touch as well, and one I certainly didn't see coming.
Some things I would have liked to see changed. The plot seemed to drag, for me, during the scenes when Vhok and Zasian were traversing the plain of fire on their way to the City of Brass. It almost seemed to me like Mr. Reid needed to add a battle or two for word count purposes. Also, as I mentioned before, the scenes with Tauran just felt forced to me and while at times they advanced the Aliiszra plot line, he is a character I could honestly care less about.
I will continue to read this series because I think there is a good story here. If Wizards of the Coast has shackled Mr. Reid with the storyline and plot arc, they should loosen the reins a little and let him work his magic that he is quite able to work. While this novel is not the best offering from Mr. Reid it has a solid plot and one I am sure many fans will enjoy.
Rated by buyers -
The best book I've read in forever. A delight to read and never a chore just like a story should be. Both cerebral and filled with action the story is written in a style that makes it easy to grasp. A book like this has been a long time coming with anti-heros that are ever so much interesting and worthy of cheering for. Thomas Reid has gained my #1 author spot with this one book. Recommended fantasy reading, FR fans rejoice.
Rated by buyers -
Great book. Lost of action, humor, and a great story line. This ranks up there with the best I have read from FR. I was a little worried about this book because the last one I read from Reid was from the War of the Spider Queen....a series which I hated especially the last book. This book however is outstanding. Reid did a super job. Reid is right up there with the likes of Richard Baker which makes them the top two writers in FR books. I can't wait for the subsequent book in this series to come out. Reid should be commended for this book.
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