Realms of the Underdark

This is a collection of 5 short stories set in different parts of the Underdark. It's obviously a cashing-in of the popularity of drow at the time of its publication. The stories range from very good to very poor, unfortunately leaning towards the latter. The best story is “Volo does Menzo” by Brian M. Thomsen, which is a very unique tale about Volo the famous travel guide writer and his (mis)-adventures with a chef and two bumbling drow. Elaine Cunningham's short story (“Rite of Blood”) on Liriel Baenre was also well-written. Too bad Mark Anthony's take on Zaknafein and a very young Drizzt (“Fires of Narbondel”), and “Sea of Ghosts” by Roger E. Moore about a duergar and a svirfneblin's escape were only so-so at best. The worst is unfortunately Ed Greenwood's “A Slow Day in Skullport”, which was a very wooden way of describing combat between good guys and bad guys (you can almost count the rounds and hear the dice) which had very little character development - making it boring and impossible to relate. Still, if you're a fan of the Forgotten Realms, the good ones will be worth the whole book I suppose.