Skyrim Book Reviews, Titles Beginning with G

Galerion the Mystic, by Asgrim Kolsgreg.

This is the tale of a peasant who trained with the Psijics and became the first Archmagister of the Mages Guild. Born into a social strata where literacy was forbidden, he fled his master's estate as a child, later to be found, half dead, by a group of troubadours who recognized his intelligence and sent him to Artaeum for schooling. It's a reasonably interesting tale, told in an unremarkable style. It might have benefited from more detail.

Three stars.

--

A Game at Dinner, by an Anonymous Spy.

Prince Helseth, son of Barenziah, has more than a few spies in his court. At a banquet, he attempts to suss them out with poison. The story is presented as a letter written by a surviving spy to his employer. Although the story is predictable, it manages to be fairly entertaining.

Three and a half stars.

--

A Gentleman's Guide to Whiterun, by Mikael the Bard.

This is probably the skeeviest book in the game, written by Mikael, that bard you can beat up for harrassing Carlotta. He lists most of the women in Whiterun--contemporary with the time of the game, so these are characters the player will encounter--along with his opinions on their physical charms and bed-ability. It's functionally a catalog for promiscuous men. Eew.

Two stars.

--

Ghosts in the Storm, by Adonato Leotelli.

The author, while traveling with a Khajiit caravan, was beset by creatures unnamed, but described so well that the reader can readily identify them as Falmer. Given the author's mention of Ri'saad, the Khajiit leader, it is apparent that this is a recent text, reasonably contemporary with the game. It is well written, with nicely detailed descriptions.

Four stars.

--

Glories and Laments Among the Ayleid Ruins, by Alexandre Hetrard.

This text is rich with lush descriptions of scenery. It's more or less a travelogue or explorer's guide, but it also touches on ancient High Elf religion. There isn't much to it, but what is there is nicely written.

Four stars.

--

The Gold Ribbon of Merit, by Ampyrian Brum.

Two young men, who had been friends as boys, have a reunion. The braggart, prideful of his awards, offers an archery lesson to his quiet friend, who is perhaps not so unskilled as his modest demeanor suggests. This tale was predictable, and not nearly as satisfying as The Black Arrow, but it was enjoyable.

Three and a half stars.

--

Great Harbingers of the Companions.

This is a history of the Companions, who are, in effect, the warriors guild of Skyrim. While the writing is not stellar, the brief biographies are interesting. Unfortunately, non-Nords, particularly elves, seemed to have short tenures as Harbinger, with sad endings. The same can be said of the one woman Harbinger mentioned. It is apparent that Nord chauvinism is not new to Skyrim, or to the Companions.

Three stars.

--

Note: I am not connected to Bethesda in any way, and no one asked me to do these reviews. I am doing this purely for my own fun, as time allows. I don't have an agenda, other than the joy of reading and writing. If I panned your favorite Skyrim book, sorry. If I gave five stars to one you thought was awful, also sorry. These are my opinions and mine alone. You're entitled to your own.

Read these books within the game Skyrim, on The Elder Scrolls Wiki or on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, or download the Dovahkiin Gutenberg.

Skyrim Book Reviews, Titles Beginning with F

Fall from Glory, by Nithilis Lidari.

The very concept of this book is critically flawed. The author talks about the decline of the Thieves Guild, and then admits to having infiltrated the guild to find out why, promising to publish a second volume when the secret is learned. If you're going to infiltrate a criminal organization, you don't publish a book saying, "Hey, I've infiltrated this criminal organization," before your investigation is complete. This is called blowing your cover. It's also tantamount to telling every guard in every hold, "Hey, I've been engaging in criminal activity. Come arrest me."

One star.

--

The Fall of Saarthal, by Heseph Chirirnis, Mages Guild Scholar assigned to Imperial Archaeologist Sentius Floronius.

An underworked assistant pursues his own sideline of research. He is either passive-aggressive, or he has astonishingly low self-esteem. Even as he flatters the archaeologist he works for, it is clear that his own research focuses on the big picture of how Saarthal was destroyed and rebuilt, while his boss's research focuses on the minutia of the bathing habits of the people who had lived there. Actually, I consider both the historical big picture and the small cultural details of day-to-day life in ancient times to be interesting and valuable paths of research. Together, they can paint a comprehensive portrait of the culture and times. However, it seems that this assistant and his boss are unlikely to ever collaborate in any meaningful way.

Three stars.

--

Fall of the Snow Prince: an account of the Battle of the Moesring as transcribed by Lokheim, chronicler to the chieftan Ingjaldr White-Eye.

This beautifully-written account gave me a strong, almost cinematic visual impression of the last great battle between the Nords and the Elves in the time of Ysgramor. This truly has an epic feel, in the classical sense of the word, both in the cadence of the story telling and in the narrative flow of the tale. This also offers a rare glimpse of the Snow Elves, who degenerated into the Falmer after this defeat, when they were still glorious.

Five stars.

--

The Falmer: A Study, by Ursa Uthrax.

This text references Fall of the Snow Prince, and I would recommend you read them back-to-back. Together, they are like bookends on the history of the Falmer: then and now. Uthrax claims to have personally visited Blackreach, and this book represents the summary of his what he learned about the history of the snow elves who survived the Battle of the Moesring, how they sought refuge with the Dwemer, only to be blinded and enslaved, and how the toxic fungus they consumed underground warped their bodies into the Falmer of present times. This work reads less like a textbook and more like a primary source document, and it greatly enriches the game world by elevating Falmer above mere monsters.

Five stars.

--

Father of the Niben, translated and with commentary by Florin Jaliil.

This is an interesting academic text. As the title implies, four surviving fragments of an ancient epic poem are presented in translation with extensive commentary by the translator. The fragments tell of the voyage of the Niben and the failed mission to find the lost Aldmer homeland of Old Ehlnofey. Along the way the crew encounters groups that may or may not be the ancient Orcs/Orsimer, the ancestors of the Khajiit, and a group of feathered people otherwise lost to history. The scholarly analysis of the fragments is detailed, with multiple interpretations presented. This is one of the more readable accounts of ancient Tamriel history.

Four stars.

--

Feyfolken, by Waughin Jarth.


This three-volume set features a story within a story. In the frame story, the Great Sage teaches lessons to his two students. In the nested story, a mute scribe purchases an enchanted quill. However, the quill is possessed by the soul of a daedra, and it has a mind of its own. There are a couple of typos marring an otherwise well-written narrative, including one misspelling of the main character's name. Both stories wandered a bit, and neither strongly held my interest, which makes me wonder if this was one of Waughin Jarth's earlier works, before he got good, or one of his later works, after he was burned out.

Three stars.

--

The Final Lesson, by Aegrothius Goth.

Despite having a different author, this story features the same Great Sage with the same two students from Feyfolken, and the writing style is very similar. Perhaps Aegrothius Goth and Waughin Jarth are the same person.

This is another story within a story. The Great Sage tells his students that it is time for them to leave their apprenticeship, but they don't want to go. So he tells the tale of a sage from ages past, who had two students. One of these students of old went out into the world and found his own way, and the other stayed with their master. Those two students met again as old men, where they discovered how differently their lives had turned out. It's not a bad tale, but not particularly dynamic.

Three stars.

--

Fire and Darkness: The Brotherhoods of Death, by Ynir Gorming.

This is a tale of two assassins guilds, the Dark Brotherhood and its predecessor the Morag Tong. It contains much history and speculation about the two organizations, and so will likely be of interest to those playing assassin characters. The mediocre writing, spangled with grammatical and punctuation errors, rather put me off.

Two stars.

--

The Firmament, by Ffoulke.

It's the Tamriel astrology handbook! What's your sign, baby? This text is an interesting piece of game lore, describing the thirteen constellations and the personalities typical of people born under their signs. The only thing that bugs me is the Serpent constellation, which "wanders about in the sky." Constellations don't wander. The "wandering stars" of the ancient world were what we today know as planets. Based on my admittedly rudimentary knowledge of astrophysics, I would have to say that the movements of several planets together would not maintain a coherent constellation-like formation. Of course, if you want to make a big enough mental stretch, you could imagine that the technologically-advanced Dwemer had a space program, and that the Serpent is actually a collection of satellites that orbit in formation. But that's certainly quite a divergence from the actual game lore. Back to The Firmament--it's a fun little book. Fluffy and not essential reading, but charming nonetheless.

Three and a half stars, mostly because it made me speculate about the possibility of space-faring Dwemer.

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The Firsthold Revolt, by Maveus Cie.

A fictionalization of pseudo-historical events, this tale tells of a battle of wits between two women, played large with armies as their pawns. The queen, a daughter of Barenziah, rightfully commands the royal forces. The king's concubine colludes with the revolutionaries. The ending, while predictable, was satisfying. The writing is not strong, but it is adequate. Overall, a decent read.

Three stars.

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The Five Songs of King Wulfharth.

The title is misleading, as these tales are not presented as songs. They read like the kind of first-rush-of-inspiration notes an author might scrawl on the back of an envelope or whatever other scrap of paper might be at hand, had such notes been published without any revision or editing. Some parts are in past tense, others in present. Furthermore, the writing seems disjointed, incomplete and unpolished. There might be a good story there, if someone were to take the time to write it. The only positive takeaway I have from this text is that I now know who Ysmir is.

One and a half stars.

--

Flight from the Thalmor.

Perhaps the errors and misused words can be excused, as this is presented as the diary of a fugitive who anticipates that his death is near at hand. The author is purported to be a bard, and this does not require any suspension of disbelief, because the writing displays a certain natural talent for wordsmithing. The types of errors I saw are of the sort that even good writers make, and then clean up during editing. The tenor and tone of the writing are consistent, and in a very few pages do a fine job of conveying the personality of the condemned man.

Three and a half stars.

--

Forge, Hammer and Anvil, by Adolphus Eritius.

Terrible grammar and poor spelling are completely in-concept for this text, which was dictated by an illiterate blacksmith to some unknown assistant, who added his own parenthetical commentary, some of it quite insulting toward his master. Even though this is mainly a catalog of what types of ingots are required for creating particular types of weapons and armor, this brief text bubbles with character and humor. The prefatory and concluding scholarly commentary are superfluous, but not detracting. Call to mind your favorite cranky-old-man voice when reading this book.

Four stars.

--

Fragment: On Artaeum, by Taurice il-Anselma.

This is a brief piece on the Psijic Order of mages and Isle of Artaeum, where they live. The island vanished from the world for five hundred years, and the Psijics offered no explanation to the world or to the author of this book. The text is well crafted and capably written, but it failed to hold my interest. Read this if you'd like to know more about the Psijics than you see in the game.

Three stars.

--

Frontier, Conquest and Accommodation: A Social History of Cyrodiil, University of Gwylim Press 3E 344.

This text describes the spread of humans across Tamriel. In most areas, humans and elves learned to coexist peacefully, but in Skyrim, humans pushed the elves back through military conquest. Although the writing is not particularly inspired, this book does provide some nice background to illuminate the racial tensions apparent in the game.

Three and a half stars.

--

Note: I am not connected to Bethesda in any way, and no one asked me to do these reviews. I am doing this purely for my own fun, as time allows. I don't have an agenda, other than the joy of reading and writing. If I panned your favorite Skyrim book, sorry. If I gave five stars to one you thought was awful, also sorry. These are my opinions and mine alone. You're entitled to your own.

Read these books within the game Skyrim, on The Elder Scrolls Wiki or on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, or download the Dovahkiin Gutenberg.

Skyrim Book Reviews, Titles Beginning with E

Effects of the Elder Scrolls, by Justinius Poluhnius.

Here is a bit a lore about the Elder Scrolls for which the game series is named. The author describes the terrible fate that befalls a person who reads an Elder Scroll without preparation, and then describes the different, but also terrible, fate that befalls one who undergoes years of preparation prior to reading. The disciplines followed by the Cult of the Ancestor Moth are explained.

I must confess: Skyrim is the only Elder Scrolls game I've played, and I have never finished it. Whenever I get to level 50 or so, I start a new character and try a different play style. But I've never finished the main plot, I've never even started the civil war plotline, and I've never actually encountered an Elder Scroll, so I have no experiential knowledge to verify or refute the accuracy of the content of this book. However, the text of Effects of the Elder Scrolls is well-written and informative, and the book serves to flesh out the game world in a very satisfactory way.

Four stars.

--

Eslaf Erol, by Reven.

You won't find a book titled Eslaf Erol in the game, but the name of the main character serves as a series title for the four books: Beggar, Thief, Warrior, and King. This story about five siblings with unpronounceable names is absurd. Even the opening paragraph contains multiple physical impossibilities. It was all too ludicrous for my tastes, but I grew used to the style, and I eventually embraced the ridiculous and enjoyed the story for what it was. As you might guess from the titles of the four books, they follow the progression of Eslaf's life, from birth through poverty to eventual kingship. While Beggar, Thief, and King are aptly named, Warrior seems a bit of a stretch, as he never weilds a weapon, but only cowers behind a shield.

It's hard to rate this series, because you'll either love it or hate it, and I don't perceive much room for ambivalence. I really can't decide if it's stupid or funny, or stupid-funny.

Two stars OR four stars. In this case, they do not average to three.

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The Exodus, by Waughin Jarth.

After reading The Argonian Account and A Dance in Fire, I've become a bona fide Waughin Jarth fan. The Exodus, however, is not one of his better works. A husband and wife journey far in the hopes of finding someone who can save the life of their sickly daughter, and they find a small enclave of cheerful, friendly mages living in the middle of an expansive graveyard. The writing bursts with lush and vivid descriptions. However, unusual for Jarth's work, there is one glaring tense shift, they type of error that should have been cleaned up in editing. The worst error, however, is a matter of dramatic timing. A particular piece of information was revealed to the reader at the midpoint of the story. Had it been saved until the last page, the ending of the tale would have had more punch.

Three stars.

--

Experimentation in the Physicalities of the Werewolf, by Reman Crex.

A sociopath describes in detail the horrifying techniques by which he tortures captured werewolves to death and documents them for science. It's well-written and enriches the game world, but it is one of the darkest, most disturbing things I have yet encountered in Skyrim. Your mileage may vary.

Three and a half stars.

--

An Explorer's Guide to Skyrim, by Marcius Carvain, Viscount Bruma.

Many books in Skyrim do something when you open them--increase one of your skills or launch a quest. This one adds a location to your map. Unlike every other book I've encountered, though, this isn't a single-use bonus. Open this book multiple times, and you'll receive multiple map markers. You can add every single one of the Stones of Fate to your map if you have the patience to sit there and keep opening and closing the book for a couple of minutes.

The actual text of this travelogue is better than I expected. An Imperial with a generally low opinion of the people of Skyrim, but a high opinion of the landscape, describes four locations with lovely detail.

Four stars.

--

Note: I am not connected to Bethesda in any way, and no one asked me to do these reviews. I am doing this purely for my own fun, as time allows. I don't have an agenda, other than the joy of reading and writing. If I panned your favorite Skyrim book, sorry. If I gave five stars to one you thought was awful, also sorry. These are my opinions and mine alone. You're entitled to your own.

Read these books within the game Skyrim, on The Elder Scrolls Wiki or on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, or download the Dovahkiin Gutenberg.

Skyrim Book Reviews, Titles Beginning with D

A Dance in Fire, by Waughin Jarth.

Another well-written multi-volume set by Waughin Jarth featuring the adventures of the hapless clerk Decumus Scotti. This story is a prequel to The Argonian Account. Poor Scotti has just been laid off from his job, in favor of a younger man with a winning smile, and he makes his way to Valenwood in the hopes of securing a lucrative contract to entice his former employer to rehire him. However, Scotti's bad luck never fails him, and just as he arrives, Valenwood erupts in war, with the Khajiit attacking on one side and the Altmeri on the other.

This rollicking tale rarely stops to take a breath, as Scotti is plagued by monsters, magic, cannibalism, and chaos. The reader learns quite a lot about the Bosmer and Khajiit, in the most fun way possible. The seven volumes of this set have continuity, so read them in order.

Five stars.

--

Darkest Darkness, by Anonymous.

This text provides some background information about various Daedra, their internal ranks and allegiances, and their relation to the Dunmer. It's not written in a particularly exciting manner, but it offers enough information beyond what one sees in the game to remain interesting. Read it if you're really interested in Daedra; skip it if you're not.

Two and a half stars.

--

The Death Blow of Abernanit, with Explains by the sage Geocrates Varnus.

The faux-archaic style of this epic poem makes for difficult reading. It was difficult to follow, despite the slow pacing. A holy warrior battles a Daedra-worshipper purported to be undefeatable, and defeats him. It wasn't terrible, but it didn't hold my interest.

Two stars.

--

The Death of a Wanderer.

An anonymous author records the end-of-life thoughts of an old Argonian adventurer. The Argonian was in possession of one of the claw-shaped keys from one of the many Draugr-infested Nord barrows. There wasn't a lot of substance to this story, but it was well written, with many nicely-turned phrases. An answer is offered to the question many players may have about these claws: "Why even have a combination if you're going to write it on the key?"

Three stars.

--

De Rerum Dirennis, by Vorian Direnni.

An Altmer from one of the great families, himself of little achievement, talks about a particular ancestor of his, renowned for turning alchemy into a science. This ancestor defeated a vampire and then went on to develop the first practical invisibility potion. A large and hostile force repeatedly attacked his village, eventually taking him prisoner. His clever use of alchemy was the key to his salvation. This story would have been better without the first couple of pages, but if you can get past the overly-long and dull intro, the main story is decent.

Three stars.

--

Report of the Imperial Commission on the Disaster at Ionith, by Lord Pottreid, Chairman.

Okay, I know this title begins with R, but it appears in the D section of the Dovahkiin Gutenberg, presumably filed on the word Disaster. I'm going to review it now because I absolutely do not want to reread it once I reach the Rs. This report possesses the dreaded combination of long plus boring. I fell asleep multiple times, and I was well-rested and alert when I started reading. My pervasive thought was, "How many pages are left? Will this ever end?" The historical events described should have been interesting, but this was written in the dryest, most overblown style possible.

One star.

--

The Doors of Oblivion, by Seif-ij Hidja.

Of course, my strongest in-game impression of this book came from finding a skeleton that would yield a copy of this book with every single search. I kept clicking on the skeleton until I had enough copies of the book to reach my encumbrance limit, and then hauled them off to town to sell.

Lucrative glitch aside, this book is actually quite interesting. In fact, it's probably the most interesting textbook about Daedra that I've read yet. An apprentice remained in this plane of existence while his master traveled into Oblivion. The two maintained psychic contact, and the apprentice transcribed the master's running commentary on his exploration of the Daedric lands. It's rather long, but well worth the read.

Four stars.

--

The Dragon Break Reexamined, by Fal Droon.

This is an interesting exploration of how the use of different calendars with different methods of measuring years can result in distortions of the historical record. This is a very short piece, and rather like an article from an academic journal.

Three stars.

--

Dragon Language: Myth No More, by Hela Thrice-Versed.

This book more than makes up for its scattering of typos by presenting passages of the dragon's language in its original form (marks similar to cuneiform), romanizing them, and then translating them into English (or whatever Tamrielian language that English is supposed to represent). The inscriptions are taken from word walls, and this book goes a long way toward explaining what the walls are and why they exist, which makes them truly meaningful, instead of just places to go to pick up new shouts. That alone makes this book a must-read. The Dovahkiin Gutenberg does not show the dragon language, so to see it, you will need to find an in-game copy of the book or look at the Elder Scrolls Wiki.

Four and a half stars.

--

The Dragon War, by Torhal Bjorik.

This book talks about ancient history, back in Ysgramor's day, telling of how the dragons ruled "as god-kings over men," and of how men rebelled against the dragons and their priests. This text provides only the most cursory overview of the war, and that chapter of history probably deserved a longer and more detailed treatment. Even so, this was an interesting little book.

Three and a half stars.

--

A Dream of Sovngarde, by Skardan Free-Winter.

Written by a Nord warrior on the eve of one of the most significant battles of the Great War, this text describes a vision of the afterlife sought by Nord warriors who die with honor in battle. Skardan dreamed himself in the company of great Nord heroes, and he sought council from Ysgramor himself. Upon waking, he related his dream to the other Nords, raising their morale and whipping them into a battle-frenzy as they rushed toward their deaths.

Three stars.

--

The Dreamstride, the Mysterious Alchemists of Vaermina.

This book is cool simply for being the largest and most impressive book I've yet seen in the game, and for having awesome cover art. This is definitely one to leave lying on or near your alchemy bench, to serve as home decor.

The content of this book serves simply to explain how the potion Vaermina's Torpor works, just before you have to use that potion as part of the Waking Nightmare quest. Treat this book as an instruction manual if you are doing that quest.

Three stars.

--

The Dunmer of Skyrim, by Athal Sarys.

The Dunmer author apparently read a travelogue written by Nords and thought that Skyrim would be a nice place to live. After emigrating from Morrowind, he discovered that the Nords were not at all hospitable toward his people. A victim of racism, he responded with a virulently racist screed of his own, proclaiming that the Dunmer ("higher beings") will eventually rise up and slaughter all Nords ("white-skinned, jaundice-haired apes"). He doesn't come across as threatening so much as angry and impotent. All he's doing by publishing this is reinforcing the bad opinion many Nords have of Dunmer.

Two stars.

--

Dwarves: The Lost Race of Tamriel, by Calcelmo, Scholar of Markarth.

This three-volume set uses a lot of words to say that little is known about the Dwemer, and to obliquely attempt to discredit all other Dwemer scholarship. Calcelmo, a character you can interact with in the game, is just as condescending, arrogant, and pompous in print as in conversation. In that aspect, these books are very successful in fleshing out Calcelmo's character. But don't expect them to tell you anything especially useful about the Dwemer, despite Calcelmo's self-reported expertice.

Two and a half stars.

--

Dwemer History and Culture: A Scholar's Review of the Dwemer Essays Written by Marobar Sul, by Hasphat Antabolis.

(Alternate title from the Dovahkiin Gutenberg: Collected Essays on Dwemer History and Culture, Chapter 1: Marobar Sul and the Trivialization of the Dwemer in Popular Culture.)

This text is so similar in tone, style, and content to the uncredited publisher's notes at the end of each volume of the Ancient Tales of the Dwemer that at first I thought it was merely a compilation of those notes, but upon comparing them, I can verify that the text is actually different. It is probably safe to assume that Hasphat Antabolis is the author of the publisher's notes in Ancient Tales. If you are hardcore into the Dwemer, Dwemer History and Culture is a must read. If you're ambivalent toward Dwemer history, you can probably skip this book.

Despite the "Chapter 1" label, there appears to be only one volume of this series.

Three stars.

--

Dwemer Inquiries: Their Architecture and Civilization, by Thelwe Ghelein, Scholar.

Now this is the three-volume set to read if you actually do want to learn something about the Dwemer. Even if the author strays into speculation on occasion, this text demonstrates more real scholarly inquiry than Calcelmo's work. It's quite interesting, and it's written in an engaging style. Beware if you're reading from the Dovahkiin Gutenberg as I mostly do--the second and third volumes are missing part of the text. Read this particular series in-game or on one of the wikis.

Three and a half stars.

--

Note: I am not connected to Bethesda in any way, and no one asked me to do these reviews. I am doing this purely for my own fun, as time allows. I don't have an agenda, other than the joy of reading and writing. If I panned your favorite Skyrim book, sorry. If I gave five stars to one you thought was awful, also sorry. These are my opinions and mine alone. You're entitled to your own.

Read these books within the game Skyrim, on The Elder Scrolls Wiki or on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, or download the Dovahkiin Gutenberg.