Andre Norton's Return to Quag Keep

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Ok, now I admit I haven't read the original D&D novel, Andre Norton's Quag Keep (I'll turn in my Geek Membership Card (tm), Ipromise). But was it a good idea to publish a sequel?

I saw Return to Quag Keep at the bookstore today, and was wondering if it --or the original, for that matter -- was the drek I'm afraid it might be.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

I have no idea how the new one is, but the original was... original. A bit hard to describe, especially as I haven't read it in ages. Some hate it, some don't know quite what to make of it, and a few think its quite good. One of those books you really have to make up your own mind about. If you can.

 

[Darkwolf71]

The original, was indeed unique. It was the first time that a book tried to embrace D&D as the core of it's story. The way the mechanics are worked in is kind of clunky and the story as a whole is rough around the edges, but it's a fun read and it's a piece of D&Ds history. I recommend reading it.

I have the 'Return' but havn't read it yet.

 

[Corathon]

I read the original, many years ago (before I played D&D for the first time) and liked it. It's part of what contributed to me becoming a gamer.

I read the the sequel (earlier this year) and strongly disliked it. The sequel is "by Andre Norton and Jean Rabe". IMO, it's mostly by the latter, and it shows.

 

[Andre]

My entire gaming group read Quag Keep when it first came out and we all hated it. This had less to do with the writing style and everything to do with the story - it's more about a D&D game than a traditional fantasy story. The ending was incredibly weak, IMO.

That said, I still like to steal sections from the book, as there are some interesting locales and characters that can easily be dropped into a game.