I haven't played Skyrim in months. I was craving the wasteland, and made a fresh tour through Fallout 3, and now I'm back in New Vegas. But, after reading quite a lot of nonfiction for work and school, I'm back to reading the Books of Skyrim on my Nook.
Ice and Chitin, by
Pletius Spatec.
Set in the time of Tiber Septum, this tale of a daring
escape from an enemy army lacks the strong sense of suspense that could have
made it truly great. However, it is still a decent story, and competently
written. From the title, you might have expected Falmer or Charrus to be a
factor, but it actually refers to the scavenged chitin armor that the main
characters wear as they flee across the icy landscape.
Three stars.
--
Immortal Blood, by
Anonymous.
You find a copy of this book in just about every vampire
nest in the entire game. It's capably written and enjoyable, and offers the
origin story of Morvarth, whose lair the player may find near the town of
Morthal. It's certainly not necessary to read this book to enjoy the quest that
starts in Morthal, but it does make the game world richer.
Three and a half stars.
--
Incident at Necrom,
by Jonquilla Bothe.
This tale about four adventurers taking on an enclave of
vampires suffers from mediocre writing and awkward sentences. It's a shame,
because the story is good, and the illusionist is a memorable character.
Three stars.
--
Interviews with
Tapestrists, Volume Eighteen: Cherim's Heart of Anequina, by Livillus
Perus, Professor at the Imperial University. (Note: the display title of this
book when you find it in the game is just Cherim's
Heart of Anequina.)
Sounds boring, right? An interview with a weaver of
tapestries? Yet Cherim was a warrior in his younger days, and the tapestry
named Heart of Anequina depicts a
battle. The description of the tapestry is so vivid that the reader can clearly
envision the battle scene. The discussion of light versus heavy armor was also
quite interesting. This book was a delightful surprise.
Four stars.
--
Invocation of Azura,
by Sigillah Parate.
A Dunmer priestess of Azura describes her religious journey.
She started off following her family's worship of Molag Bal, lost her faith and
moved on to Boethiah, and then on to Nocturnal, and finally found her faith
again in Azura. This short book gives a glimpse into the practices of four
Daedric Princes and their worshipers.
Three and a half stars.
--
Journal of Gallus
Desidenius.
This journal describes Gallus's pursuit of Mercer Frey. The
text mentions characters contemporary with the game, such as Karliah and Maul,
so I gather that this is tied in with the Thieves Guild questline, which I've
never played through. As I lack the game context, I can only judge the book on
its literary merit. The author did a nice job of making this seem like a real
journal. There is a sense of temporal disconnect between each paragraph, so
that even without any dates or other notation of time lapse, the reader can
infer that each entry was written on a different day.
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 ScrollsPages, or download the Dovahkiin Gutenberg.
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