D&D General I'm reading the Forgotten Realms Novels- #202 The Howling Delve by Jaleigh Johnson (Dungeons 2)

[aco175]

Only 40 more Drizzt books to read before you get to find out who he really gets to be with in the end, at least the first set of lives.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

You can probably give Spellfire a miss...

 

[Don Durito]

#004 Darkwalker on Moonshae by Douglas Niles (Moonshae Trilogy Book 1)

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Yeah, this is the one I should have read first- in some ways I'm glad I didn't. Set in the Moonshae Isles (obviously) which is home to the Celtic mythos style Ffolk and the marauding Viking-like Northmen. Our hero is a bit of a... I don't know, and neither does he, that might be the problem. The start of the novel gets my back up for a good long while, awfully contrived and a bit (whisper this) unbelievable- when Tristan meets Daryth (a bit Drizzt lite). Also, what's with the faithful side-kick cats/dogs (Guenhywvar vs Canthus) who had the hound/canine companion first Salvatore or Niles. Pawldo is very Halfling.

Read?

Niles was first. The resemblance between Daryth and Drizzt is not accidental. When Salvatore was first asked to write a Forgotten Realms novel he was a bit shaky on what they actually wanted them him to do.

Supposedly he pitched a kind of sequal to the Moonshae books with Daryth from the novels and the new character Wulfgar - but they said they said they wanted a novel set in a different place. Every place he chose, it turned out someone was already working on it, so he picked a place right off the edge of the map which became Icewind dale.

I think they also asked him who was going to be Wulfgar's sidekick in the novel - he'd been planning to use Daryth so he came up with a new character over the phone, Drizz't Do'Urden a Drow Ranger, pretty much on the spot.

(I'm remembering an interview I read with Salvatore in Dragon Magazine decades ago - so I can't be 100% sure all the details above are correct)

 

[GreyLord]

Well, when you said there were 295 I decided to count up how many I have and have read. It looks like I only have around 142 of them (143 if one says Red Sands counts).

I think I have all the biggest and most important ones, but WOW...I don't even have half of all the novels written for the Forgotten Realms. Thought I had a pretty impressive collection.

(That's just part of my D&D novel collection, it becomes massive if you include all the others series such as Dragonlance, Greyhawk and other worlds (though DL and GH have the most outside of the FR).

 

[GreyLord]

You can probably give Spellfire a miss...

I love the Spellfire trilogy myself. I feel it actually has a place within FR lore that's important to know about if is interested in FR backgrounds...plus it's by Greenwood himself so there's that.

I'd put some of the later novels as ones to miss (for example, though finely written, my personal take on it is that I don't feel the Tiefling series actually adds much to the FR lore).

 

[Salthorae]

You might want to skip Rich Baker's The Shadow Stone. Despite being published as a Forgotten Realms novel, it was originally written for Birthright. But by the time it was set to be released, that campaign setting had been closed down, so Baker went back through and made some quick changes to turn it into an FR novel. Even today, the book makes much more sense if you place it in Cerilia rather than Faerun.

It does, but I still enjoyed it as a book, shoehorned into the FR or not.

There are some crackers...

I really liked the Drizzt prequels Homeland, Exile and Sojourn... a really fun trilogy for lovers of the Drow and far better than the Icewind dale books IMHO

The Return of the Archwizards series is great

Also loved the Last Mythal series.

Come to think of it, I was partial to Troy Dennings books set in Cormyr.

I read the Drizzt prequels as my first FR novels... they hold a special place in my heart.

Last Mythal is one of my favorites. I love the elves (Elves of Evermeet is great too), and their ancient history, so it's awesome to explore mythal lore and such in fiction

I love the Spellfire trilogy myself. I feel it actually has a place within FR lore that's important to know about if is interested in FR backgrounds...plus it's by Greenwood himself so there's that.

I like the Spellfire books, they're a bit of a non-stop avalanche of action, but again, I like the exploration of the spellfire power and the discovery and feeling of being overwhelmed that Shandril takes the reader through.

 

[Goonalan]

Did you really read all four of these books TODAY?

Nope, the dates I read them are in the second post of this thread- I started reading the Icewind Dale Trilogy on the 2nd of August 2019. I managed to buy all three books at the same time in a charity shop, I just thought I'd try to get through the series. Mid-way through the first book (The Crystal Shard) I thought- "I know I'll read all of the Forgotten Realms novels", because I'm a very foolish man.

So, I'm posting this stuff here so that I can keep a track of what I have done, and get some encouragement etc. from you lovely people.

I'll be posting a few more entries of the books that I've read between 2nd August and today, then when I've caught up the updates here will undoubtedly slow right down.

Cheers goonalan

 

[Goonalan]

Just to make clear- if it says Forgotten Realms on the cover, and I can get a copy, then I'm reading it.

I'm not looking to reduce the number, in fact my list has more than 295 novels on it already- there's a few other TSR/Wotc novels I intend to have a look at on the way.

Perhaps at this point I should also point out that for the last 20 years or so I have been in training (on reflection) for this attempt (I am of course kidding). What I am saying is I read a lot- I read one book every week to ten days, that's my normal pace.

I think the issue is going to be getting hold of them all, that said I stated in the first post that I've already bought the first 40 novels, well that was a fib- I've just done a count- I've got the first 66 novels. I'm buying them up in the date order that they were published.

Cheers Goonalan

 

[Goonalan]

#005 Black Wizards by Douglas Niles (Moonshae Trilogy Book 2)
Read 1/9/19 to 6/9/19



Book 2- and that's more like it, it helps that Tristan and Robyn set off on separate quests- the former to seek an audience with High King of the Ffolk in an attempt to settle his claim to his father's estate (and position). On the way we learn that the High King has been usurped- a pawn of the Black Wizards in the title. Robyn meanwhile is off to see the Druids, and along the way also discovering that the land (and the Moonwells/Earthmother) are under siege by the forces of darkness. Bhaal (apparently it's pronounced Bawl- I've been saying the Lord of Murder's name incorrectly for many years) has many servants- and they're all too cool for school. If you want to read the musing and machinations of an evil Cleric with a grudge (and an undead, and allied Sahuagin army) then Hobarth's your man.

It's the bad guys for me, again, in this novel that steal the show- don't get me wrong the home team (Tristan, Robyn, Canthus, Daryth, Pawldo etc.) get some great action along the way but the thing I'm taking away is the backstabbing, terrifying evil dudes, and especially the Cleric mentioned above. Also the Northmen get a chance for redemption (after a castle sails in to harbour, you read that right), and then there's the growing influence of Chauntea (Goddess of Life). Much more enjoyable because the romantic leads fret a bit about each other but it doesn't (for me) dampen the action or deflect from the ever increasing threat.

Lots of great action, lots of plot going on- a rip-roaring read, can you tell- I really liked this one.

Read!

 

[gyor]

My personal favourites are The Brimstone Angels Series, Spellfire series, Broken Chain Series, Sembia/Everis Cale novels, The Reaver, The Sentinel, Key of Stars series, Evermeet, Daughter of the Drow, The Priests series, the Wizards series, the Griffin Brotherhood books, Timeless, Sandstorm, Venom in her veins, Simbul's Gift, Exile Series, Cormyr.