Best FR Paperback Novel?

[Desdichado]

I remember thinking the original Salvatore Icewind Dale books were pretty good, although generally I'm not much of a Salvatore fan. Some of his other books are not nearly so good; the Cleric Quintent has much better cover art than interior text.

I once tried to read a Greenwood novel; Spellfire, I think? I got turned off by it within the first two or three pages. Although to be fair, that may well have been a victim of circumstance as much as anything else.

I read the first book of the Avatar trilogy, and thought it abysmal.

In fact, FR fiction is a big part of the reason I have such a low esteem for game fiction in general. I remember thinking the Rokugan novels were pretty good, though. At least the first ones.

Does it have to be FR that we recommend?

I'm also crossing my fingers for the Eberron novels; I'll pick them up and give'em a try just on the strength of the setting and its themes.

 

[psyronin]

Yeah, avoid anything by Ed Greenwood. Never have I been made to wish for the protagonists' deaths. And Bruce Cordell seems to be the second coming of Greenwood when it comes to prose. I got his "Lady of Poison" and I can only stomach a few pages a day.

My #1 recommendation is "Twilight Falling" by Paul S. Kemp. Other good books IMO are:
"Prince of Lies" by James Lowder
"Rising Tide" by Mel Odom
"Servant of the Shard" by R. A. Salvatore
"The Ogre's Pact" by Troy Denning

 

[Faraer]

If someone asks to recommend a novel (in general) to read, advising against any one author is just petty: better to focus on what you do recommend.

In this case: Some people don't like Ed's writing. Those that do, appreciate it greatly. As you would expect, Ed's novels in the world he's known for decades and can tour effortlessly in his head are in a different league from other authors doing work-for-hire there. To recommend someone *not* to read them amounts to an irresponsible attempt to deny them the chance to find something they might love. It's like someone who found The Lord of the Rings too slow recommending that other people stick to the films and the video games.

(wink)

Where the wink signifies that this is an outright falsehood.

 

[Wraith Form]

Where the wink signifies that this is an outright falsehood.

Actually, where the wink indicates that characters get very naked, somewhat often.

...Although I was using exaggeration as a form of sarcastic irony.

I've read 90% of the Greenwood books--FR or not--and I recall every book at least one character seems to strip (for some reason or other) or sleep with another character. Hey, whatever...it's not graphic as much as it's...kinda jarring.

 

[Faraer]

Yeah, I guessed so. The false bit is the Chinese-whispers 'Ed's a dirty old man' canard, based on perceptions of some of his fictional characters, which I've heard often enough (occasionally venomously) that it's obviously plausible to some people. Damn, I can't find the screed Elaine Cunningham wrote about this.

The relatively free sexual behaviour probably seems jarring because TSR and Wizards have downplayed the fact that the Realms' sexual mores are not our own. You'll be less jarred if you read Ed's discussion of this on his thread on the candlekeep.com boards (try Kuje's compilation).

 

[J_D]

It's not really possible to answer the question of which is "best" without specifying what specific criteria you're interested in. Since these are game novels -- novels set in a game world, more criteria may be applied than a standard novel.

* Quality of plot/story
* Style in which story is written
* Quality of characterization of the characters in the novel
* How well it portrays the flavor or style of the gaming world in general
* How much world lore it contains (i.e. NPC's, culture, history, food & drink, any other tidbits of info about the game world)

Personally, given that we are talking about game novels, I think that the last criteria -- that of world lore present -- is at least tied for #1 criterion, if not the single #1 criterion. If a FR novel contains lots of Realmslore that fills in more detail not provided in game books, then it's a good novel even if the story sucks or the style in which it's written sucks. In my opinion, the quality and/or style of the story at best only ties world lore in importance and never exceeds it.

Whatever else anyone may think of Ed Greenwood's writing, his books are always chock full of Realmslore which means they are always good books as Realms fiction even if the story isn't great in some people's opinions.

 

[DaveMage]

My favorite FR Novel(s) are the 2nd Drizzt trilogy: Homeland/Exile/Sojourn.

If you're just looking for D&D fluff, though, I'd recommend the Paul Kidd Greyhawk novels, especially White Plume Mountain. It was a hoot.

 

[Mystery Man]

The relatively free sexual behaviour probably seems jarring because TSR and Wizards have downplayed the fact that the Realms' sexual mores are not our own. You'll be less jarred if you read Ed's discussion of this on his thread on the candlekeep.com boards (try Kuje's compilation).

I like the find Alustriel in the community bath section.

 

[Arnwyn]

Just wondering what are some of the better Forgotten Realms Paperbacks out there - I'd like to pick up some fluff to read, but would like to avoid the absolute drivel.

Well... good luck with that!

 

[megamania]

I'm seeing a lot of "Read this" or "Don't read this" but no reasons.

Greenwood- I find his writing very dry. His Elminister book was tough to claw through but his ideas are not bad.

RA SAlvatore- I personally love his stuff. It is reader easy and great moments of laughter but at the same time very serious. When watching LoTR with the elf and dwarf I could only think of Drizzt and Wulfgar.

Kate Novak / Jeff Grubb- This was my first "DnD" authors and I still enjoy Azure Bonds. Great humor and good stories. I'm not so sure on how well it fits into the mainstream FR lore.

Elaine Cunningham- I have yet to read but have most of her FR books. Seems like when I've reached her books I go for something other than fantasy. Go figure.,

Troy Denning- I thourghly enjoyed his work in Darksun and have read only one FR book by him. The parched Sea was very good however.

Other books that were good by authors we rarely seem to hear from include Jean Rabe (Red Magic) and Mel Odem's Rising Tide wasn't bad. It bridged the gap between 2.0 and 3.0 well introducing many of the 3.0 ideas.

I'm sure there are others but there I have only read authors of other campaign worlds.

Hope this helps.