Best FR Paperback Novel?

[Snotlord]

City of Ravens

The City of Ravens by Richard Baker is my favorite FR novel so far. I was pleasantly surprised to see crunchmeister Baker produce a novel full of action, intrigue and romance with a swashbuckling rogue/wizard as the main character. The plot was kinda weak, but Baker obviously cared about his characters and I found myself drawn into the story. It reminded me a little bit about the Lankhmar books.

Sadly no nudity, but I loved it still.

 

[npiccini]

I for one enjoyed the Icewind Dale trilogy and pretty much all of Salvatore's books on Drizzt and company. Although I have not caught all the way up to publication, I am thoroughly enjoying the War of the Spider Queen books. I was delighted to read someone mentioned Raven's Bluff by Baker. I poured through that book in a couple of hours and based an entire campaign session on the city's locale. I thought that book stood alone (no three book committment and was entertaining and kept your attention!

I have to say Im surprised at all the anti-Ed Greenwood stuff. I lvoed the Cormyr books with the assassination etc. I found it really inspiring and a good setting backdrop for campaigning. He is the only one if read that has really breathed richness and life into a region in such a thorough manner that little went unexplained. Did his writing lack some of Salvatore's luster for gripping play-by-play battle? absolultely, but IMO he makes up for it with suspense and regal intrigue.

On a related note, I was thrilled when the Hunter's Blade trilogy started two (?) years ago, but now, I havent even gotten out and bought the third edition. It seems its time to retire Drizzt in all his glory. He has become far and away an unbeatable character in the Realms and it seems Salvatore is trying to find new ways for him to become interesting. In this series he has single-handedly defeated hundreds of enemies, and although I havent read the conclusion, I am convinced he is prepared to take down the remainder of the Orc/Giant army by himself.

 

[FCWesel]

I too like the Salvatore stuff, but I like thre Cleric Quintet probably best of his stuff. I love Ivan and Pikel. Of the latest trilogy, I think books two and three have fallen short of the quality of the first books by a far margin. I really look forward to his next effort with Jarlaxel and Artemis (he's got two more books with them planned right now) as I am curious as to how he can make these not-good-guys get what is coming to them (kharmically) without making it a "punish-downer-fest".

I LOVED Raven's Bluff. It is by far the absolute funnest of the Realms novels. Great characters and priceless moments (I love the mouse scene), the the over all story was a tad weak, I will admit.

Hated, hated, hated the "avatar series".

I am not a fan of Greenwood, though Cormyr was not too bad.

I liked the first MOONSHAE series a lot, but its probably not a good example of "the realms" as its a location thing...the second was simply stinkypoop on toast.

 

[Yuan-Ti]

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

Great books!

 

[Selvarin]

Elaine Cunningham's good, although the Magehound trilogy wasn't my cup of tea. Richard Baker's good, so is Mel Odom. Salvatore still has his moments, although the continuing effort to de-superfy Drizzt (while laudable) doesn't do much for me. I don't worship at the Altar of Ed but he's also had one or two books that were okay. Also, the first Moonshae trilogy was great although the second trilogy wasn't.

 

[diaglo]

The original Forgotten Realms Campaign Set differs from Ed's Realms in a few well-known and relatively minor ways. Other than certain constraints imposed by TSR and WotC, Ed's novels are much as they'd be if he hadn't sold the setting to TSR. Ed is responsible for orders of magnitude more of the Realms than any other writer, and his continuing involvement (while other novelists and game authors come and go) means he's responsible for the basic feel of the setting -- so starting with a non-Ed book is bad advice because it won't give the most representative introduction that will be most closely followed by other Realms works.

I don't recommend people to read Ed's novels who don't like them, that would be silly. The possibility that a new reader wouldn't like them, a possibility which certainly isn't higher for Ed than for any other author, does not mean a new reader is not best advised to try them first.

I'd say a good secondary world is way more than a backdrop; certainly the Realms is designed to be more.

i think you'd better look again. by orders of magnitude... RA Salvatore and Elaine Cunningham's books bury Ed's. Bob and Elaine were both on the NY Times best seller list. Bob multiple times.

if you want people to play and know the Realms you really should recommend books to nongamers as much as you do to gamers.

 

[Faraer]

In terms of sales, Ed's books do at least as well as Elaine's; Bob's are well above all the other Realms fiction.

My recommendation is not to gamers particularly. As specifically 'Realms novels', Ed's are definitive, and are certainly the ones to start with in order to get the best feel for the world. As novels that happen to be set in the Realms, I judge Ed's books to be better than the other Realms novels I've read. While I've liked Realms novels by others, it would be disinformation to recommend a non-Ed book as a starting point.

 

[Desdichado]

While I've liked Realms novels by others, it would be disinformation to recommend a non-Ed book as a starting point.

For you, because you like the books, as you've stated. Yet surely, it does cross your mind that someone else can not like Ed's writing, and it doesn't have to offend you personally that they don't, and therefore they don't recommend his writing?

 

[Faraer]

Of course. What I mean there is that you only have one chance to read a first novel set in some particular world, and that first exposure will tend to bias and inform your later contact with that world, so it's a choice to be made with care; and if one finds that one likes Ed's books, one gets that, the best prose-fiction introduction to the Realms, *and* a complete synergy with the setting -- the depth of themes and textures developed over decades -- not possible elsewhere. So I think my advice is logical, personal liking aside -- reading the original first is just good sense.

I think recommending a second Realms book is a much more open question. Elfshadow, Cormyr. Elminster's Daughter, The Halls of Stormweather, any of the Realms of short story collections, the Grubb/Novak books, one of Paul Kemp's, Forsaken House, would be among my picks. I liked the Bob Salvatore books I've read, but I don't really see them as Realms novels -- they're very much their own thing.

 

[Desdichado]

Although some of Salvatore's FR novels are the only one's I've ever read, with the exception of the first book in the Avatar trilogy. Unless I'm forgetting something I read years ago, which is certainly possible... I guess I just don't know my Realms!

Actually, that'd be a true enough statement...