Best FR Paperback Novel?

[takyris]

I'll step up and offer my dramatically unoriginal opinions.

Elaine Cunningham, focusing on the ones with Arilyn and Danilo (or one or the other). I'm constantly impressed by her dialogue, and by her ability to have something approaching a fun, smile-inducing romance story in a gaming fiction novel.

R.A. Salvatore for the fight scenes. That's not a slam on my part -- I love good fight scenes and hate bad fight scenes, and my bar is set high. His early stuff in particular (the Crystal Shard, and then tread lightly from that point on) is just wonderful at conveying just the right amount of information and letting your imagination fill in the details.

I've had good experiences wth others as well, but those are the ones who've written enough for me to really get into the "Oh, that's by him/her? Sure, I'll try that," mode.

 

[PaulKemp]

I'm not sure who wrote the Erevis Cale trilogy, but go for it. It's really good. I think only the first book is available yet. There aren't any super-NPCs to save the day in this one.

Paul S. Kemp wrote the Cale trilogy, and the first two books are out: Twilight Falling, and Dawn of Night.

 

[diaglo]

Here's a related question, because I could probably put up with some less than stellar writing to get the requisite "Realmslore" -- what novels focus on Thay or the Red Wizards?

IronWolf has you covered.

also the Elminster Shadows of the Avatar trilogy has a sprinkling

and the Simbul novel.

and one of the Horde books but i forget which one.

 

[diaglo]

Paul S. Kemp wrote the Cale trilogy, and the first two books are out: Twilight Falling, and Dawn of Night.

iirc, he posts here on ENWorld too.

 

[PaulKemp]

iirc, he posts here on ENWorld too.

I believe you are correct, sir.

 

[diaglo]

the reason i said to avoid Ed Greenwood's work...

has to do with the criteria HiLiphNY posted in the original thread starter.

much of the mechanics and details as to how things work in game and in novels are... shall we say left up to the imagination. and with the novels being spread over multiple editions... heck Ed started the Forgotten Realms in 1967 or 68... the confusion gets even more compounded.

he does have nekked people. and he does have many deus ex machina. but that is part of the charm of his stories.

 

[valeren]

I got into reading the FR novels because of the Azure Bonds series by Kate Novak/Jeff Grubb. Then came Drizzit and RA Salvatore. Recently I'm inclined to say Richard Baker (The City of Ravens and Forsaken House) is one of the best.

 

[Desdichado]

I believe you are correct, sir.

And you're from Grosse Point, too! Are you coming to the Detroit Gameday?

 

[PaulKemp]

And you're from Grosse Point, too! Are you coming to the Detroit Gameday?

I have newborn twins, so it's difficult for me to find much in the way of free time these days. Tell you what, I'll try to at least swing by, if, in light of this...

In fact, FR fiction is a big part of the reason I have such a low esteem for game fiction in general.

...you agree to give my writing a read and evaluate it on its own merits. Don't buy it. Just get a libray copy. Not too much to ask, is it? You might find yourself surprised. I am discouraged by people who dismiss "gaming fiction" out of hand. As with non-gaming fiction, there is a mix of good and bad. But I've never yet heard anyone generalize from the particular to the general when it comes to non-gaming fantasy fiction -- "Man, that [insert author's name] novel blew major chunks. Non-gaming fiction stinks." Yet, the opposite is offered as though it were axiomatic. It's not. Evaluate it the way you would evaluate non-gaming fantasy fiction -- author by author.

End mild screed.

Anyway, I'll go check the Gameday thread. If it's being held (like I think a previous one was) at Pandemonium on Middlebelt, I know right where that is. I used to live in Garden City before moving to Grosse Pointe. Bought a few gaming books from Pandemonium, I have.

 

[Andre]

As others have said, tastes differ, so I'll just list the ones I've read and what I think of them.

Spellfire by Ed Greenwood. Ever listen to someone in a game store drone on and on about his characters? That's what this book felt like.

Cormyr by Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb. Really two stories in one. A current problem (an assasination attempt on the king) and the history of Cormyr (which relates to the assasination). The book alternates between the two stories. I found the part about the assasination fairly tedious, but the history was fascinating, IMO. Worth the time to read.

Moonshae trilogy (Darkwalker on Moonshae, Black Wizards, Darkwell) by Douglas Niles. I loved this trilogy precisely because it read like a good fantasy trilogy, not a D&D story.

Azure Bonds by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb. Read this a long time ago and enjoyed it. Some interesting twists.

Icewind Dale trilogy (The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, The Halfling's Gem) by R.A. Salvatore. Read these years ago and also enjoyed them. Artemis Entreri is an despicable villain, Drizzt was new and interesting, and Bruenor is a great dwarf. IMO, the first book is the best of the three.

Evermeet by Elaine Cunningham. Written in the same style as Cormyr, with alternating chapters covering a contemporary story and a history of the elves. As with Cormyr, I found the history more interesting, but the contemporary story isn't bad either. Highly recommended.

Realms of the Underdark, edited by J. Robert King. A collection of short stories. The only one that I still remember is "Rite of Passage" by Elaine Cunningham. Outstanding story about a drow coming of age.

Threat from the Sea trilogy (Rising Tide, Under Fallen Stars, The Sea Devil's Eye) by Mel Odom. I read the first two and enjoyed them for their focus on sahuagin - the culture really comes across. Unfortunately, the third book wasn't published for another year or more, by which time I'd lost interest. One of these days I'll re-read the first two and pick up the third - I'm still curious how Odom ended the story.