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I read a lot of Forgotten Realms novels, and I was a little worried when I picked up this one.  First, it takes place in a relatively remote area in the far southeast corner of the world and from the jacket copy it was clear this story was about Yuan-ti (snake people) and the jungle, two things that don’t exactly light my interest on fire.  It’s also the first Realms novel for Tim Pratt, and unknown author to me.  Basically, there was a formula here for a real stinker, but boy, was I wrong.

I didn’t know it at first, but Tim Pratt is an accomplished (and award-winning) fantasy/sci-fi author.  His writing throughout the book was a cut above what I’m used to from other authors who write for Wizards of the Coast.  What’s more impressive is that he’s taken an unfamiliar setting with unfamiliar characters and monsters and makes them his own.  Things like drow, Elminster, or Waterdeep are instantly recognizable to readers, but Mr. Pratt doesn’t have any of these to fall back on.

The story focuses on a young girl adopted into a family of Traders who make a living as part of a larger organization that harvests and sells terazul, a flower that is essentially made into a narcotic.  It can be difficult to take a real world issue like drug addiction and plug it into fantasy, but this is one of the biggest strengths of Venom.  The cast of characters involved with the central story are all good people, but they’re harvesting a drug that is ruining people’s lives back in the big city and they all have to struggle with this ethical issue.  When they find out there is an even more insidious origin to the drug, it just makes it that much worse.

If you’re looking for traditional D&D, this novel won’t disappoint.  The main characters run the gamut of races from Dragonborn to Tiefling to Eladrin.  (One of the best characters in the story is Glory, a Tiefling psion who erases the minds of nearly everyone she meets.) Over half the novel takes place in the Underdark with derro, swordwings, quaggoths, Kua-toa, and grell galore.  Actually, this novel pairs very well with the recent Dungeon Survival Handbook put out by Wizards.  If you’re looking to bundle a gift for someone who loves D&D, I’d recommend the pair.

My one complaint about Venom is that it doesn’t interconnect with any other D&D storylines and seems set apart (both physically in setting and also in terms of story) from the rest of the Realms.  Most Realms novels have dates associated with the chapters so you can place the story in the chronology of the larger setting, but this book omits them.  This is a small detail, but one that may annoy Realms fans.

In the end, this is a great stand-alone novel written by an established author.  So many of the D&D novels these days involve the larger plotlines that it can be refreshing to go somewhere in the world that has been basically untouched in fiction and explore.  While you’re waiting for the next Salvatore or Greenwood story to drop, pick up a copy of Venom in Her Veins, and I bet you’ll be surprised by what you find.

I think you're right that the stand-alones are really standing out.  Until recently, Wizards published a lot more stand-alone novels.  Now they seem to be following a trend that they publish a book and if it does well enough it gets a sequel.  This is good and bad.  It's good because we get sequels to some books that wouldn't otherwise get them, but bad because every book is setting up a sequel now.  I think I liked it better when they were publishing groups of books (Wizards, Wilds, etc.) and then trilogies by the more established authors.  Then the author at least knows how much real estate they have to work with.  I'd like to see more stand-alone books and I hope they continue to bring new voices into the Realms (both established writers like Tim Pratt and new writers).  I'd also like to see themed series of stand-alone books like the Ed Greenwood Presents: Waterdeep series.

As far as Salvatore, I'll admit he's the one that brought me into the Realms and I almost think his books stand apart from it at this point.  You have a lot of readers that only read those books and don't read any other Realms novels.  I think a lot of people have a real love/hate relationship with Salvatore and Drizzt.  As far as the quality of the books, I love some of them (Sellswords) and really didn't like others (Transitions).  My son is reading them now and seems to be enjoying them, so they may still be a good place for young people to get introduced to the Realms and D&D.