It's not that Realms of the Underdark is necessarily *bad*. Around the time that this stories were written, Drow elves (the evil dark-skinned elves that live deep underground and worship the dark spider-goddess Lloth) were all the rage in Forgotten Realms books. They must still be popular, as I never fail to see a new Drow book out there. It's only natural that TSR (before Wizards of the Coast bought them) would want to take advantage of such cool creatures. Drizzt Do'Urden was the coolest of the cool, an exiled Drow who is actually a hero. Of course, he features in one of the Realms of the Underdark novellas. Surprisingly he isn't really the star of it, but it does explain something of his past.

The problem is that there just isn't really anything exciting or original about any of the stories. The book starts and ends with the publisher of the Volo's travel guide books. Volo is renowned all over the Realms for his travels and his guides to various areas. This is a cute little dig at the publishing industry as he sends a missive to the publisher saying that he has a new project for him, but he's going to keep the publisher in the dark (ha ha!) a little while. This doesn't really work as a framing story or an introduction, even, as it only ties into the last novella and has nothing to do with the other stories. It seems a bit pointless, actually. There is one cute in-joke (the author of Cormyr: A Novel is "Greenwood Grubb," a combination of Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb, two prominent Forgotten Realms authors. But it ain't that funny and it begins the book on a rather bland note.

The first real story is "The Fires of Norbandel," by Mark Anthony. This is the story of Zaknafein, Weapons Master for House DoUrden, one of the noble Drow houses. Drow society is ultimately run by a bunch of high priestesses and other evil women, for the benefit of Lloth. There is almost no good in this society whatsoever. So Zak is an unusual man as he doesn't quite fit in with all of this. Another who doesn't fit into Drow society is young Drizzt. The Matron Mother of the family tasks Zak to find a magical dagger that will ensure that Lloth will come to the Do'Urden household during the next festival in two days. It's hidden in the Pillar of Norbandel. Unfortunately, Drizzt finds himself getting involved in the whole affair, and Zak finds out something interesting about Drizzt's past. Also, when Zak is at his deepest despair, he finds an unexpected ally. Anthony has the rather annoying habit of constantly mentioning the pointed ears on his various characters. Once to remind the reader that Drows have pointed ears would be fine. But it felt like I read it every other page. What I also found amusing was the opening of the story, where Zak goes through a horde of kobolds with almost frightening ease. It reminded me of my days playing Dungeons & Dragons, where kobolds have from 1-4 hit points and were the main fodder for beginning characters because they were so easy to kill. This is supposed to impress us that Zak can kill a lot of them at once? The writing is generally flat but it does have some interesting moments in it. The confrontation between Zak and the women of the Do'Urden women was kind of funny, in an unpleasant way.

The next story is "A Slow Day in Skullport," by Ed Greenwood. Greenwood is one of the masters of the Forgotten Realms setting, and he is determined to show it. Unfortunately, it's one of the more by-the-numbers entries in the book (and that's saying something!). Three of the Lords of Waterdeep, former adventurers who have retired to positions of wealth and power in the big city, find themselves on yet another adventure. Durnan, owner of the Yawning Portal and master of the entrance from Waterdeep into the Underdark, receives an image of a young noble girl in trouble, and is determined to rescue her. He sends a message to his friend, Mirt the Moneylender, who then alerts his friend Asper of the potential danger. He suspects a trap. Sure enough, it is, as Durnan is attacked by a Beholder, a floating creature with a huge eye in the center and a bunch of eyestalks, all of them able to shoot bolts of energy and other magical attacks. Durnan is the object of the Beholder's plan, and his friends have to come to his rescue. I'm not sure I can really say how bad this story is. I could almost hear the dice rolling during the battle scenes and there's no flow to them whatsoever. Greenwood also can't resist inserting Elminster into the story. Elminster is the greatest mage in the Realms and the character that Greenwood played when the Realms was a gaming world. He's in there for no apparent reason. Either that, or the story will be continued elsewhere, as other seemingly unrelated events happen as well. If true, that's a real minus for this story. What's even funnier is the sequence where Mirt is constantly attacked by various creatures of the Underdark and just swats everything away without raising a sweat. These characters don't feel like they're in any danger whatsoever, even when things start looking bleak at the end. Why should I care about these people? Ultimately, I didn't, and struggled to get through the story. Seemingly invincible characters are dull to read about. Next!

The third story is "Rite of Blood," by Elaine Cunningham. This is much better. Liriel is a Drow girl who is about to face her coming of age hunt. She has not seen her father in many years, and the woman who took her in is becoming increasingly jealous of Liriel's abilities. Thus, Liriel must not only survive her hunt, but the machinations of her adopted mother. This is an intriguing story of betrayal as Liriel must turn the tables on her patron before she ends up dead. Liriel shows a quick intelligence behind the flighty exterior that we see at the beginning of the story. She's an interesting character, a girl who excels at magic and is a wonderful student, but will drop everything to see the father who turned her away all those years ago. She still wants to impress him. He only has a use for her once she has done something for him and achieved Drow adulthood. The magical battle between Liriel and the wizard is a bit "rulebook" oriented, which I suppose is a hazard in a gaming world (I remembered the spells in the game as they were cast by the characters). However, when the story captures your interest, you can reach past that and actually enjoy it. Cunningham succeeded in that for me. Also thankfully, there's no sign of Drizzt anywhere.

"Sea of Ghosts," by Roger E. Moore, is a rather plain story. Wykar, a gnome, has escaped slavery by the Drow, along with a companion, a derro named Geppo. Geppo is sickly, with a horrible cough, but that's ok. Wykar plans to use Geppo in a plan to destroy a sinister egg being held by the Drow before they can make use of it. Geppo is expendable, though Wykar does feel guilty about that sometimes. Geppo will prove the distraction that will allow Wykar access to the chest. Wykar doesn't plan on becoming somewhat attached to the ugly little derro, however. He also doesn't plan on the earthquake that could ruin everything. I found that, once again, I didn't really care about either of the characters. Moore doesn't do anything to make us care about them. Wykar apparently has a conscience, though it's sporadic, and it Geppo is just boring. Moore does do one thing effectively, though. He really made me squirm when he had Wykar pierce his own eardrums so as not to be charmed by the Cloakers' songs. The ending, however, is trite instead of tragic. And the asides about the dwarven woman who survives the earthquake just mystified me.

The final story, "Volo Does Menzo," is a wonderful conclusion written by Brian M. Thomsen. Percival Woodehous (or Pig, as he's known in Skullport) is a down-on-his-luck maitre'd who was the best in Waterdeep before being disgraced and forced to find what work he can in sinister Skullport. Volo, the infamous travel guide writer, was the cause of his distress, and Pig is surprised when he finds Volo in a tavern that Pig frequents. Determined to talk to him, he gets mixed up in an attack on Volo by two bumbling Drow disgraced warriors. It is said that Volo intends to write a guide to the Drow home city, Menzoberranzan, and they can't have that. Does Volo have something else up his sleeve? Or will both of them be put to death for the warriors' cleansed honour? This is a delightfully funny tale with the characterization of Volo being perfect. He loves the sound of his own voice and regales both tavern customers and his guards with tales of his travels all over the Realm. He's also devious, as his ultimate plan demonstrates. He has a terrific memory, as he ultimately does remember what happened to Percival (though it would have been nice if he had explained exactly what happened). Percival is also well done as the master chef, out of his element in a situation not of his making. I found the two bumbling Drow hard to get used to at first, because we've never seen one before. They are usually brutally efficient. However, their characterization grew on me, though Thomsen does go a little too far with their denseness. Still, the situations are hilarious, especially the confrontation with the two fish creatures, the Kuo-toa, that Volo and Percival witness when they're supposed to be asleep.

With one great story, one good story, and three iffy ones, this collection ultimately isn't that good. If you're a fan of the Forgotten Realms, you may enjoy these novellas. Otherwise, you should probably stay away.