Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago by Multiple Authors
It's time to dip back into the worlds of fantasy. I’ve been intrigued by the tabletop game for a few years now. The thought of hot, sweaty jungles filled with killer bugs, pirates, snake men and ruined pyramids ticks all the things I enjoy. I found this book while searching for some Gav Thorpe novels at my local library. Let’s see how we do.
Title: Frostgrave- Ghost Archipelago
Author: Multiple Authors
Publisher: Osprey Games
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 288
Commercial Fluff: The Ghost Archipelago has returned. A vast island chain covered in the ruins of ancient and otherworldly civilizations, the Archipelago appears every few centuries, far out in the southern ocean. At such times, pirates, adventurers, wizards, and legendary heroes all descend upon the islands in the hopes of finding lost treasures and powerful artifacts. A few, drawn by the blood of their ancestors, search for the fabled Crystal Pool, whose waters grant abilities far beyond those of ordinary men. It is only the bravest, however, who venture into the islands, for they are filled with numerous deadly threats. Cannibal tribes, sorcerous snake-men, and poisonous water beasts all inhabit the island ruins, guarding their treasure hordes and setting traps for the unwary.
This fiction anthology contains nine stories of adventure set in the Ghost Archipelago.
Review
First up, I want to say it was nice to read a bunch of short stories instead of one long story. This had a twofold effect on me. One, if a story was dull/boring/bad, at worst, it was only thirty pages long, and I was soon onto the following tale. Two, if it was a good story, it ended too soon, and I felt cheated. I guess there is no pleasing me…
Ultimately, the stories and, I guess, authors, to a point, lacked a depth of background. We just got thrown into a world and were expected to understand what was happening and what the different terms meant. I found myself relying on Google to answer my questions and aid with the early stories; it is seemingly written for those already used to the setting. This was a recurring problem, as the authors struggled to explain a character’s past or why these different characters are all drawn to the region. I feel they weren’t wholly briefed on the setting before writing the stories, which is a shame.
In almost every tale, you spend roughly ten pages learning names and then forgetting them by the end. I found myself not engaged with any hero/villain. Instead, I became more interested in the flora and fauna of each tale, willing there to be more Snakemen, dinosaurs, and temples full of traps and pitfalls.
It felt like this book would have been better off by allowing fewer authors and more page space to tell longer tales of adventure. For me, there were two stand-out tales: the Serpent Engine by Ben Counter (I enjoy this author) and The Journal by Gav Thorpe (a fantastic author, in my opinion)—these tales I would have loved to read more of and get behind the cast of characters.
This was an average book at best, full of opportunity to great, but instead left me to flounder on the reefs shipwrecked.
