Review: Shadowdale by Scott Ciencin

Shadowdale is the first of the Avatar Series, what was originally a trilogy but later expanded to five books. It was written by Scott Ciencin though originally published under the pen name Richard Awlinson. There is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Module of the same name that corresponds with the events of the book. 

This review has  corresponding video which you can watch here.

Original cover

The story starts with the gods and goddesses of the Forgotten Realms gathered together by Lord Ao. They are the target of his wrath for some of them have stolen the tablets of Fate. As a result, the Avatar crisis ensues as the gods are cut off from their realms and godhood, so prayers and magic go unanswered and become unreliable, while the gods are made to walk the planet Toril in mortal avatar form. The only one not cast down is Helm, God of Guardians. 

The year is 1358 DR and so begins the Time of Troubles, also called the Arrival, the Godswar, and the Avatar Crisis. This is also the beginning of the Era of Upheavel which will end over 100 years later with the Second Sundering. 

With the deities casting out, we first see Mystra, goddess of magic, try to access the Weave, yet deification form at which all magic of the Art comes, and she fails. Then Bane, god of hate, terror, and tyrannical oppression, lands in Zhentil Keep and takes and avatar as he sets about his malevolent plan to acquire the Tablets of Fate. 

Near the city of Arabel in Cormyr, the mage Midnight awakens to find things not as she left them, most notably she has a strange amulet around her neck. Her and 3 other heroes find themselves im the midst of the power struggle of the deities and their minions. 

One of the others is Kelemvor a sellsword warrior also in Arabel during the events of the Arrival. He is a little moody and not much of a people person, but still honorable and pretty average in his temperament besides his glaring misogyny, which is kinda out of place in the Forgotten Realms. He is acquainted with Cyric as they recently went after the artifact The Ring of Winter. He is approached by a starving waif on the streets who seems to have a quest in a mind for him. 

Reprint cover

 Cyric is a thief turned mercenary. Honestly my favorite character, which is funny if you know what becomes of him.

Then we have Adon, à Cleric of Sune Firehair, goddess of Beauty. He is familiar with Cyric and Kelemvor as he was also used by Lady Lord Myrmeen Lhal, ruler of Arabel to bring down a conspiracy. Adon is certainly vain and a little arrogant and foolish. 

I found Ciencin’s descriptions of simple character actions to be written perfectly, where I was getting imagery for mundane things I often don’t get while reading. The characters all decently explored too, for example finding out more about Kelemvor’s past, and how his curse really harms his temperament.

The pacing is a little slow, for example chapter 6 is somewhat dreamlike and dragging. Chapter 7 fixes this.

There are a decent amount of deities talked about with only the most basic of descriptions, so those unfamiliar with the pantheon  be lost with the mention of gods and goddesses. 

Divine magic only works for clerics within a mile of their deities avatars, while arcane magic that normally comes from Mystra, Goddess of Magic and her weave is terrible inconsistent and dangerous to use. 

The gods most at play here are Mystra, Bane, Helm, and Myrkul Lord of the Dead. This conflict really gets heated about the halfway point and that made the book finally hold more of my attention. 

As the back of the book states, the party wants to eventually get to Elminster in Shadowdale, hence the title of the book. Those two things had me thinking a majority of the book in Shadowdale, but only the last bit actually is. The party goes from Arabel to Castle Kilgrave, to Tilverton, to Shadow Gap, to Spiderhaunt Woods before reaching the titular place.

There is a romantic relationship I didn’t really care for as one of the people in the relationship wasn’t really a good prospect. 

The story does end with a cliffhanger that left me saying what the heck. Overall it’s Good, though maybe barely so. I have not been itching too bad to get to the next book, but I am looking forward to how the story develops.

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: The Silent Blade by R.A. Salvatore

The Silent Blade is a 1998 novel by RA Salvatore and Book eleven in the Legend of Drizzt and book one in the Path of Darkness series. This of course takes place in the world of Forgotten Realms.it takes place in the year 1364 of Dale Reckoning, for those curious that’s about 130 years before the present fifth edition timeline. 

This will of course have some spoilers for the first ten books, beware. Read my thoughts on The Dark Elf Trilogy (books 1-3), The Icewind Dale Trilogy (books 4-6), and Legacy of the Drow (books 7-10). This review also has a video counterpart that can be watched here: https://youtu.be/W-1MnGOCzHM

It was nice having The Companions of the Hall back together even if their reunion in Passage to Dawn was lackluster. They of course start off at Icewind Dale and are leaving to bring Crenshinibon, the evil magical artificer commonly called The Crystal Shard, the south to Erlkazar to Spirit Soaring, temple to Deneir, in the mountains

Wulfgar is suffering, tormented by thoughts of Errtu in his nightmares. He’s no longer empathetic and his friends try to get him to feel again.

Entreri is back, he thankfully wasn’t present in the previous book, and I’m still of the opinion he should have died several books ago, but I digress. Entreri has returned to Calimport thousands of leagues to the south of Ten Towns in Icewind Dale, the furthest part of the Sword Coast still on it. These storylines. Initially don’t seem connected, besides the characters past connections. They do start connecting about half way through.

Part one sets up the Compnions storyline and Entreri’s, and honestly there was little combat in part one, and it was hardly drawn out 8 was really enjoying this, reminded me of the earlier Drizzt books. Wulfgars torment is deep, and it seems even friends or the old thrill of battle won’t dissipate his demons.

Part two brings Wulfgar more to the forefront, and his second encounter with a tribe of Uthgardt, the Sky Ponies, last seen in Streams of Silver was a greater view of the Companions past but also a larger view of the Forgotten Realms I often feel Salvatore misses in his works, seemingly forgetting them.

Jaraxle does make an appearance as well, a welcome one with his typical bravado and his webs of intrigue. Of the drow of Menzoberranzan, he is by far the most nuanced and interesting to read about. Though admittedly the guilds in Calimport sort of play the part of the warring houses of the drow city in this book. I much preferred this than the destructive and chaotic drow house wars which were a huge chunk of their society while the guild wars are just a piece. 

Cadderly is mentioned several times, but doesn’t actually make an appearance here. While he does appear briefly in Passage to Dawn, for those unaware, Salvatore wrote The Cleric Quintet that introduces the priest of Deneir and his friends.

This book also amps up the sexual content, but not in a gross amount. It felt more  adult rather than the juvenile feeling lots of the other Drizzt books had. 

I finished Pssage to Dawn all the way back in August of 2020, I needed a big break from Drizzt and that break helped a lot. I enjoyed this one throughly though my pace wasn’t the best. I’d say it’s Exceptional, considering how the other Drizzt books have gone.

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: The Reaver by Richard Lee Byers

The Reaver is a standalone book by Richard Lee Byers set in the Forgotten Realms during the events of The Sundering, when the cosmology got smacked around and gods were reborn and many changes brought by the Spellplague were brought back.

The Reaver is technically book four of The Sundering book series, but they’re all effectively standalone, though one character from The Reaver makes a cameo in the fifth book, The Sentinel by Troy Denning. And technically Stedd first appeared in book 3, The Adversary, but that was just a small introduction to him. The whole Sundering series is one of the few Forgotten Realms books you’ll find at Barnes and Noble these days.

The Reaver introduces us to some pirates of the Sea of Fallen Stars somewhere near the city of Teziir on the Dragon Coast. The Inner Sea has been wracked with endless storms in this time of upheaval. Our main characters are Anton Marivaldi who is a “renowned reaver with a insatiable thirst for bounty who, when it comes to a choice between two evils, always chooses the one he’s never tried” as the back of the book tells us. He is originally from Turmish

“When the tempest is born,

As Storm-tossed waters rise uncaring,

The promised hope still shines.

And the Reaver beholds 

The Dawn-born chosen’s gaze,

Transforming the darkness into light”

So prophesied Elliandreth of Orishaar in the days of the First Sundering aeons before.

Evendur Highcastle, is an undead pirate captain, and chosen of Umberlee, who is the Queen of the Depths, evil sea goddess often fittingly called The Bitch Queen, funnily enough, who is after a perpetual tempest to cover the seas. 

“[V]ying with high castle for the hearts and minds of the people is Stedd Whitehorn, a little boy and the chosen of a god thought lost to time: Lathander, the Morninglord”, the god of the Dawn.

Umara Ankhlab is a red wizard of Thay, in service to a vampire and sent as sent by the undead ruler of Thay, the lich Szass Tam. 

The year is 1486 DR, so just a few years before most fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adventures. Byers really makes the setting come to life, and it was interesting following someone of a more wicked bend. When finally getting a grasp of the situation in chapter one, Byers throws a wrench in.

We have pirates, vampires, chosen of the gods (alive and dead), sea monsters, gangs, and celestials, 

Byers writing is nice though often over my head, he utilizes many words I’ve never heard before, in all his works. These words aren’t literary or archaic generally either, just very particular. 

An interesting relationship develops in the book, one I wasn’t expecting. I always appreciate an unlikely friendship. While the story itself is good I was largely not drawn in and left disappointed by that. I found it Acceptable. I leave it up to you to decide if you may like it.

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Dragonlance Review: Dragons of Spring Dawning

 The Dragon Highlords and their armies still dominate the land, but some free people’s stand resolute not to surrender to their tyranny. Palanthas has been giving a respite with the cost of the lives of hundreds of Knights of Solamnia. Will help come? Will the dragon orbs be mastered? Will the goodly metallic dragons come to face their ancient enemy? Released in 1985, this is the third and final novel of the Dragonlance Chronicles. Read my thoughts on the first novel and second novel in the series. 

The story starts off with Berem, the mysterious man with the gem in his chest that’s gotten a little attention in the first two books but is still largely a mystery. He reminds me some of Sméagol from The Lord of the Rings. As you can imagine, in this finale we start getting lots of answers as secrets are uncovered and revealed. 

Part one takes us back to Tanis, Caramon, Raistlin, Tika, Goldmoon, and Riverwind in Flotsam on the Blood Sea of Istar. I was very impressed with how atmospheric it starts, it immersed me quickly in the story, faster and more deeply than the first two books. 

Tanis makes his escape from the clutches of Kitiara, who is away in the west, having just slain Sturm Brightblade at the end of Dragons of Winter Night. Tanis struggles with his role of leadership since he feels he betrayed his friends by staying with Kitiara for a few days. 

Kitiara is such an interesting character. Her reveal was the biggest shock to me in Dragons of Winter Night, and the fact that she has a former lover, acquaintances, and brothers on the opposing side made for an interesting dynamic. 

Raistlin becomes a lot more enjoyable and interesting in this book. He was certainly getting there in book two, but in this one, every time we had a chapter from his Point of view, my eyes were glued to the page. 

A few chapters into part one, we head back to the characters in the west. She started down a path I really loved near the end of book two, but Laurana continues to shine in Dragons of Spring Dawning. She grows into her own, and is regal, wise, and loving way. But she is also burdened and scarred by her experiences, and the responsibilities put on her. Though in some ways I was disappointed with her arc, it kinda fizzled for me.

Big plus, Flint and Tas are back together and they’re banter is so fun to read
Of new characters introduced in part one, Astinus was my favorite, he’s oddly immortal and is tasked it seems to record all events, or at least important ones, in history. I’d like to see more of him in stories that take place before or after this.

We also get to finally see Palanthas, which is the grandest city to be explored in the series, considering it survived the Cataclysm unlike Tarsis. 

“I don’t believe any of us were sitting around praying for a war, but war has come, and now you must do what you can to win it.”

Part one ends with things getting going. The forces against Takhisis finally rally some and seem to be able to stand somewhat of a chance.

Part two has some going into danger and others escaping from it. Some of this didn’t sit well with me, as it’s passed off as love but seems more like stupidity. This part tries to be more poetic and those two things didn’t work for me. Because it seems like it tries but isn’t succeeding. I can see why this could be popular with younger audiences. Don’t get me wrong, the progression of the war is finally coming to its climax and I was excited to finish.

Part three brings us back to a character that I didn’t discuss in my Dragons of Winter Night video because he was thought dead by the end of Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I can happily say that Fizban, Dragonlance’s Gandalf, does make an appearance in his own hilarious fashion that kicks off part three to a great start. 

Then we get lots of development, be prepared to be sad, to feel loss, but to feel joy. I will honestly say that this story is pretty good, but I had a few things spoiled before reading and that did dampen the fun. There are a few threads of adventure left at the end though, and I’m curious to follow them.

That being said this series did disappoint me some, and I think it’s largely because I didn’t find it lived up to the hype. Which of course overrating and underrating a book can make the level of enjoyment fluctuate drastically, at least for me. I generally try to go in with neutral feelings but I’m not always successful. Oddly the first book was my favorite, I think I’m in the minority with that opinion. 

This book also had flat writing, which really wasn’t engaging, but the story and humor make up for it. Most characters, even after the whole series of development are still cliché. With the reluctant leader, brooding Warrior, and so forth. With this conclusion, the book is Acceptable. Sadly at this point, I was just sick of the writing and almost went into a reading slump with it.

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Review: Reunification (Body & Soul) by Jeff Grubb

 Jeff Grubb is known for many contributions to Dungeons & Dragons, among the plethora of products he wrote was the Forgotten Realms comic line of the late 80s and early 90s. Years after finishing the comic series he wrote a short story that ties into it, that is Reunification (Body & Soul) from Dragon Magazine issue 247 of May 1998. It can be found on pages 63-71. If you want a glimpse of the characters as they appear in the comic line I reviewed the first story arc here. 

There is another short story that also ties into Dragon Magazine 260 from June 1999. The story there, The Honor of Two Swords, was written by Grubb’s wife, and ofttimes writing companion, Kate Novak. I will be reviewing this later. 

Story art by Rags Morales

Vartan hai Sylvar, gold elf cleric of Labelas Enoreth, is in his god’s palace in Arvandor. He is acting like a sneak-thief to gain access a magical item so he can check on his old friends from the Halruaan caravel, Realms Master. Their old leader, the magic-user, Omen, is withering with disease brought in by a curse. He hopes to avoid his demise by magical means.

The party is on some unnamed island in the Sea of Fallen Stars, where an extravagant setup is being tested, to see if Omen can transfer his soul to a brass golem. He has tried every other option available to him. This goal takes them on a psychic journey. 

This is after Jeff Grubb left TSR, but he had been going contract work still, mostly on Jakandor. It was great seeing a story in classic First Edition style (released in late 2e times), where gods interact with the people of Toril. While not a super meaningful story to me, since I haven’t read all the comics, it does leave some possibilities open. I’ll see what the next story holds, but maybe some crew of the Realms Master will appear in my own Games. The story is Good.

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Dragonlance Review: Dragons of Winter Night

As I stated in my thoughts for Dragons of Autumn Twilight (found here), I will be doing book reviews from other settings from time to time. I really enjoyed the first book and wanted to quickly finish the trilogy of the Dragonlance Chronicles, so here we are, book 2: Dragons of Winter Night.

We have a poem speaking of the nine Heroes of the Lance, a nice homage to the nine walkers of the Fellowship of the Ring. Though admittedly some noticeable characters are left out of this nine, for example Laurana.

“Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.”

The story then starts with the refugees of Pax Tharkas giving the Hammer of Kharas to the dwarves of Thorbardin. It was a little odd since a tale seems to have transpired in between the books, and I believe this story is told in Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, book one of The Lost Chronicles. The party is to set out to the city of Tarsis, a city cut off from the peoples of Solace and Haven since the Cataclysm, but with the access to the dwarven kingdom, now supposedly possible, assuming it survived the Cataclysm. 

A few chapters in, the heroes are separated, similar in a fashion  to the Breaking of the Fellowship. This is slightly spoiled by the back of the book, but it does happen relatively quick, and I will not spoil how.

This novel is a little darker, a little lower. Not everything goes swimmingly, is is fittingly typical for a middle book, when the heroes reach their low point and bad things happen. There are mirky woods to traverse, dragon fire to avoid, and ancient artifacts and secrets to be uncovered. In particular I enjoyed the nuanced nature of the dragon orbs.

The second part of the book continues the story with the second half of the party that’s been sundered. They seem to have had their own adventure in the last month, and in the first chapter we get the details of their dealings in the icy lands. It’s crazy how much more of the continent of Ansalon we get to see in this book. I also really love the homages to Tolkien. Overall part two was fun, with a solid conclusion.

Part three hops around more from character to character as in common in modern epic fantasy. We get some great time with some favorite characters (mine particularly being a doddering  wizard. We have a council reminiscent of Elrond’s, though more exciting and frustrating. People die, things are revealed. I’m not really sure where book three is going to continue and where it will go.

I will say that the foreshadowing is a bit too bold, since every time it was given I was able to guess what would happen, making some surprises not so surprising. A couple times no foreshadowing was given, particularly there was one big surprise near the end that was quite a shock. 

Overall the story is Good, maintains entertainment while being a little slower than the first book, with less action, more world building, and fewer pages. I do feel like I’m in the minority liking the first book more. We skip around a lot, and there was so much story to tell, I think the authors were just trying to get the book down to D&D novel size rather than typical epic fantasy size. Don’t get me wrong, this book does have its moments and I did enjoy it. Onward to Dragons of Spring Dawning.

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Review: The Godborn by Paul S. Kemp

The Godborn is the second book of The Sundering, the cosmological, world shaking series that brought Realms lore from fourth edition to fifth edition. It is also the final iteration of The Legend of Erevis Cale (I may have made that up), being a sequel to the Twilight War Trilogy. This is my fourth review for The Sundering, and you can read my thoughts for the others at these links: The Adversary, The Sentinel, The Herald.

The only two I have yet to read now are the first and fourth in the series. The Companions is also the 30th novel in the Legend of Drizzt; I have only read the first ten so far. The Reaver I will read soon.

Naturally, being a sequel to the previous Erevis Cales series, do expect spoilers if you have not read them. This book does work as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend reading the previous books beforehand.

“When the shadows descend,

In Hell-sworn covenant unswerving

The blighted brothers hunt,

And the godborn appears,

In rose-blessed abbey reared,

Arising to loose the godly spark.”

- Excerpt of a prophecy by Elliandreth of Orishaar

The prologue takes us to 1450 DR, Varra has been transported through time seventy years. She finds that her previously flat belly is now bulging with a presently due baby. She is found by warriors of Amaunator/Lathander who take her to the local abbey where her son, Vasen is born, destined to be a shadow in the light. I really enjoyed this prologue, and while not his best, Kemp is a master of drawing the reader in a dark and awesome world. 

Sembia is a protectorate of Netheril, and dark clouds cover the land, twisting and fouling it. Aberrations wander the shadowed land, tainted rain kills and twist crops and vegetation. People hold onto hope that one day the Sun will shine on the land again. Though not all hope is good, some of it is evil, and other nihilistic.

“A light in the darkness”

Zeeahd and Sayeed are an interesting duo introduced early on. They are brothers afflicted by the Spellplague and they search for the abbey where Vasen makes his home so they can be healed of their afflictions. Though of course there are other things about the two. There is a deva character, a kind of aasimar (like the one in Circle of Skulls, book six of Ed Greenwood Presents Waterdeep).

We also have Riven who was great to see again. It's been a hundred years, and he has lived with divinity all that time. He meets up with Mags early on, the tiefling mind mage who set up shop as a tavern owner in Derlun after the Spellplague. 

Brennus and Rivalen Tanthul also have an interesting dynamic, brothers; one semi-divine, the other full of hate for the murderer of his mother. I really enjoyed how this played out.

“He existed in the nexus of light and shadow, a creature of both, but a servant of only one.”

This has easily been the most disturbing D&D book I’ve read. Some parts were horrifying and disgusting, though thankfully this is only for a small section in the middle of the book. I'm also sort of a wimp, but it did affect my overall thoughts.

The Godborn is Exceptional, though this helped a lot by the last 50 pages.

I feel this could have been helped by being a trilogy instead of a single book slightly longer than average. There was in-fact supposed to be a trilogy, The Cycle of Night, but Wizards of the Coast axed it and we got The Godborn instead. From Cale’s first appearance in 2000 in The Halls if Stormweather to 2014 with The Godborn, this is finally the end of the dark tale. It’s sad, I can’t believe it’s over. This series alone has made reading Forgotten Realms novels worth it, we will see what other great novels are in store on this quest.

"Ages turn, the work changes, but there is always horror"

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: Realms of War

 Realms of War is an anthology edited by Philip Athans and released in early 2008. It accompanied the Twilight War trilogy by Paul S. Kemp that I recently finished (review here), and fell in-between the releases of the second and third books. This is only my second anthology set in the Forgotten Realms that I have read, the first being The Halls of Stormweather that introduced the Sembia series (review here). Like many "Realms of ..." anthologies, this one focuses on wars of Faerûn, spanning millennia of conflict.

"Continuum" by Paul S. Kemp

Our first story is about Rivalen Tanthul, Prince of Shade Enclave. It starts off in -365 DR, in the beautiful woods of Arnothoi, the lands that will one day become Sembia. He is in a meadow with his mother, whom he plans to murder to complete his devotion to the Goddess of Darkness, Shar. The story jumps to 1374 DR, during the events of the trilogy. We see more of Rivalen, as well as his brother Brennus. We also see some of Varra, Erevis Cale’s lover. This was a nice story that showed some things not explained beyond a sentence or two in the novels. We also get Rivalen’s thoughts on Elyril. Like most things from Kemp in the Realms, this story is Exceptional. You could read this in between Shadowstorm and Shadowrealm.

“Weasel’s Run” by Lisa Smedman

We meet Weasel, a spriggan trapped by a Ghostwise halfling cleric of Malar the Beastlord for the High Hunt. We discover he is a scout for the armies of Luiren, and we get to see some of his early days in this position in a flashback to -68 DR, while the rest of the story takes place in -65 DR. This is during the Hin Ghostwars in Lluirwood. It’s interesting as these Ghostwise halflings still speak, and it’s only after the war is over and they’ve moved to Chondalwood that they take their silent ways we know of in the modern Realms. We see some creatures I honestly haven’t ever experienced playing at the table or in my reading. This story is Exceptional.

“The Last Paladin of Ilmater” by Susan J. Morris

We find ourselves in 902 DR at the Chondalwood. Jaeriko, a druid, is our POV as she follows Maze, an assassin in service of the city-state of Reth during the Rotting War. This civil war split Chondath into loosely allied city-states and allowed their Sembian colonies, Chondathan and Chauncelgaunt, to gain independence. The duo face undead raised by the necromantic general of Arrabar, a fallen adherent of Ilmater, god of suffering. This is an interesting tale, somewhat disturbing, with an intriguing ending: overall it is Good.

“Black Arrow” by Bruce R. Cordell

Spring of 1095 DR in Sarshel, a port city of Impiltur, a kingdom of the Easting Reach. The story begins with a letter of condolences to a Madame Feor about the death of her son Jotharam. This letter is from Imphras Heltharn, who in a few short years will become the first king Impiltur has had in 100 years. We then start our story following a young Jotharam. This sense of doom hangs over you as you read of the naive young man and his dreams of grandeur as a warrior defending the walls of Sarshel. A surprise attack from a goblinoid army sends people scrambling. This was super fun for me, I’m a big fan of Triad worshipping Impiltur but had actually yet to read any fiction set there before this. I had chills and tears come to my eyes, I was honestly really surprised. This reminded me of some of the memorable prologues from Jordan’s Wheel of Time. This short tale is nothing short of Amazing. 

“Too Many Princes” by Ed Greenwood 

A tale of Mirt the Moneylender, during his time as mercenary when he had the moniker “the Merciless”. The year is 1333 DR, and Amn is in a war of succession. Mirt is in Ombreir, a citadel of the Araunvols. A wicked vizier means to trap Mirt and others: it was fun to read how he saves their skins, though one of the Seven Sisters does most of the work. A Good story from Mr. Greenwood, unsurprisingly.

“The Siege of Zerith Hold”  by Jess Lebow

Goblins from the High Peaks and Kuldin Peaks threaten Erlkazar. Zerith Hold in Duhlnarim (the home of Atreus from Faces of Deception) holds fast against the onslaught as the crusaders wait for help from Korox. The year is 1358 DR, the Goblin Wars rage in the newly Independent country. Our characters are Jivam Tammsel, a half-elf, half-steel dragon ranger, and Lord Pudrun who leads the efforts at Zerith. This is the same country the Cleric Quintet takes place in for the most part (though Salvatore seems to have forgotten that), if you want more stories in this country, Lebow also wrote the novel Obsidian Ridge, which takes place in Erlkazar less than a decade after these events. Valon is incorrectly refferred to as a Baron rather than Duke before coming King. Beyond this, this short tale was a nice opening course and I want more. It is Good.

“Mercy’s Reward” by Mark Sehestedt

Gethred is someone in or near Rashemen, though he is not a rashemi, he seems to be running from Tuigan. The year is 1359 DR, an these events can be further explored in the Empires Trilogy. Persistent pursuing enemies abound, shape changers face off, this is one wild ride. It’s a decent, Good tale.

“Redemption” by Elaine Cunningham 

Ferret, an elf of the Wealdath in Tethyr during the Reclamation War, puts her people first in 1368 DR. The transition from one character to the next at the beginning of this tale was so expertly done I was hooked. We see Cunningham‘a famous characters Danilo, Elaith, and Arilyn. Oddly enough there is also a lythari in this tale, just as there were in the last. We learn some of Myth Rhynn and Mallin, a lich. This is a Good story, though I still need to read the novels involving these characters.

“Changing Tides “ by Mel Odom

Rytagir Volak was an explorer on the Sea of Fallen Stars in the year 1369 DR. A lover of the sea, he is in search of the shipwreck for Peilam’s Nose. A bargain with sea elves is made, something I wasn’t quite expecting but was realistic and fun to read. A fun introduction to the Threat From the Sea series by Odom, and the Twelfth Serôs War. A Good tale in Odom fashion.

“Chase the Dark” by Jaleigh Johnson 

The year is 1370 DR and Devlin Torthil is a trickster magician in Amn during the Sythillisian Uprising. Ogres have been attacking the western cities. Dev is an interesting character, and learning his background like the character design. Overall he was a little too blustery and slightly annoying more than charming. Still a decent story, this one was Acceptable.

“Bones and Stones” by R.A. Salvatore

This tale is also set in 1370 DR, the aftermath of a battle outside Mithral Hall has left both the dwarf Thibbledorf Pwent and the orc G’nurk with the pain of loss. We also get Drizzt’s journal entries throughout, they’re not annoying this time around . This was actually really nice, I was admittedly a little scared since the last handful of books I’ve read by Salvatore haven’t been the best. This, this was nice. Though the fight did last a tad too long, it was well written as always. It’s a Good tale. I’m not actually this far in the Legend if Drizzt yet: this is somewhere around The Thousand Orcs or The Two Swords. This story was later republished in The Collected Stories: The Legend of Drizzt Anthology.

“Second Chance” by Richard Lee Byers 

The year is 1375 DR, and Kemas is in Thay. This likely corresponds with Byer’s The Haunted Lands Trilogy set in the same year in Thay. Kemas is a member of the Order of the Fire Drake in the church of Kossuth. He teams up. involuntarily, with Bareris against Szass Tam’s coup. This is a tale of a young man finding courage in the face of truly terrifying odds. It is Good.

Overall I’m happy with this anthology. I hope that future compilations of this sort as as rewarding. It was a little bit of a trudge getting through with all the notes I had to take since the characters and setting changed so often. Overall, this was a refreshing, Good exploration of many of the Forgotten Realms.

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You can track my current progress here.

Completed Series: The Twilight War Trilogy by Paul S. Kemp

The Twilight War trilogy is a series of novels written by Paul S. Kemp as a sequel series to The Erevis Cale trilogy (my review of that here), as well as a transition in story to fourth edition lore, the third book being released after the core rule books for fourth edition were. The City of Shade is come and Netheril has returned, as so detailed in the Return of the Archwizards series by Troy Dennning. The Twilight War also has an accompanying anthology, Realms of War, that I will be reading and reviewing separately later. (Update: Review here!)

I read first two books in March and the third in June, they are my 51st, 53rd, and 54th Realms novels completed.

Cover art by Raymond Swanland

Shhadowbred (2006) - Amazing

Shadowstorm (2007) - Exceptional

Shadowrealm (2008) - Amazing

“The air itself is an enemy.”

Shadowbred 

The highly anticipated sequel to the Erevis Cale Trilogy. It’s 1374 DR and a new shadow is over Anauroch, Netheril has returned, and what better setting than the proximal Sembia, home of the Realms best Shade and Chosen of Mask to fall under its shadowy gaze.

If you would like to read specifically about how Thultanthar returned, I suggest The Return of the Archwizards series by Troy Denning. If you want to know how the Leaves of One Night was retrieved, read Mistress of Night by Dave Gross and Don Bassingthwaite. None of these are necessary reading, they’re just tendrils that touch Twilight War in the intricate web of novels set in the Realms.

At the start of Shadowbred, we get a prologue from a young halfling boy named Aril. This is one of the best introductions I’ve read in ages, I had chills reading it. We then follow events started in Sakkors during The Erevis Cale trilogy when the Source cried out when the Sojourner’s servants encountered Ssessimyth. Our first main character is actually Rivalen Tanthul, a Prince of Shade set on conquering Sembia. Then we meet Elyril, a woman, a somewhat mad worshipper of Shar, goddess of darkness, living in Ordulin, capital of Sembia.

Finally we meet someone from the previous Erevis Cale books, the tiefling psionicist Magadon Kest on the Dragon Coast. And on page 82 we finally get a point of view chapter from Cale.

The political maneuvering in this book is great fun, and I’m reminded of the vast depth of history that is present for the Forgotten Realms. This helps with immersion, but is nigh impossible to keep a firm grasp on because of how expansive it is.

We also revisit Selgaunt and Stormweather Towers of the Sembia series, which didn’t feature much in the Erevis Cale Trilogy, so it was almost like coming home, though almost like a home with a stranger in it: the city has changed quite a bit and has a very different feel than before.

This books ends the tale on a cliffhanger, but not a bad one. This tale is clearly the first part, but it does it’s job well. Lots of things happen in this book, and though a large chunk of it is setup, it pays off and we get good action, character development, politics, magic, and more. I was extremely happy with this novel, and ate it up.

“‘Where are you going?’. . . ‘To kill a god.’”

Shadowstorm 
War looms in Sembia, back-dropping a dark fantasy tale of Faerûn.
I first noticed the excellent map at the front of the book. This story doesn’t start off as well as the first book, but nonetheless we find a trio of poor friends in a freezing hellscape. 
An encounter with Mephistopheles, Lord of Cania, saves their skins when a bargain is struck, a surprising one with shocking addendums.

Elyril is still a fun antagonist to read about, made more interesting as she descends into madness. Kefil is a unique companion for her, and I'm not entirely sure he is anything more than just a normal dog.

Chapter two returns us to Sembia politics with Abelar at a monastery dedicated to Lathander, and Mirabeta in Ordulin. Enticing details, juicy and intriguing, a nice contrast to the tough deadliness of Cale. 

The whole plot-line with Phraig was played out very well, and it was something that I was not expecting at all.

At times the books plot seems to be at the pace of an infant’s crawling, other times things flow rapidly. We also get to see some higher ups on a cosmological scale, mostly of nefarious alignment and reputation. The worshippers of Lathander in this series shine a good light on the faith, almost making up for their gods brash arrogance.

Lots of intense events happen closer to the end. We see a third Prince of Shade during the climax of the story, Yder, the same from The Sentinel. This climax was extraordinary, and bumps a novel that was somewhat suffering from sequel syndrome, but was still good, into higher territory. In fact the ending was even more epic than that of Shadowbred.

The juxtaposition of the fates and gods working in Saerb and Selgaunt makes an interesting contrast for peoples on the supposed same side of civil war.

“How can you not feel awe as you watch a sun die?”

Shadowrealm 
Cynical characters abound in this dark tale. We brought back to a shadowy tale, as the events of the last book settle over the land. Having taken a few months of a break, it was soothing to be back into the story. It starts at the beginning of the month of Nightal, basically our December.

As far as evil goddesses go, I much enjoy the philosophy of Shar and her followers over that of Lolth. Cynicism over unavoidable entropy seems more natural and believable to me. Every page of this book is a joy, even if it is dark. Seeing all the surviving pieces come together in such a beautiful show, an epic battle I don’t think I’ve seen rivaled in any other D&D novel so far. Cosmology shifts, divinity traded and lost. It's hard to write much since I do not want to spoil the story.

The epilogue takes place in 1479 DR, over a hundred years later, and likely was to setup the trilogy that later got condensed and made part of The Sundering: The Godborn.
Overall this trilogy is much darker than the first. There isn’t brightness from Jak in this one, and with Magadon’s deteriorating status, all seems to be descending into shadow. It’s nothing short of  Amazing honestly; The Twilight War trilogy now stands as my favorite Realms series to date.

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: Revenge Among Thieves by Ed Greenwood

 The last of the three part tale of Elminster's time as the thief Eladar the Dark on the streets of Hastarl. While not necessarily canonical, this does seem to have been the vision Mr. Greenwood had for young Elminster, but was unable to make it so in the final novel because of TSR's Code of Ethics at the time. Make sure to read my thoughts on Far Too Many Thieves(here), and Dark Times in Hastarl(here) before this post. Like the previous part, this was published online in August of 2005, and can be read in the archive here.

Dark times came about in the last iteration of this story, and Elminster is likewise in a dark place. There is a small section about the Magister we met in Elminster: The Making of a Mage, that was unexpected but brightened the dreary tone a bit. We see the conclusion to Elminster's tussle with the magelord Orluth and the petty gang of thieves, the Moonclaws. 

In some sense, the way Elminster is able to defeat enemies more numerous than he is reminiscent of just about every Salvatore Realms novel I have read. That being said, Elminster always has more close calls (friends dying, and staying dead for example), and he is more clever and tactful. The ending was interesting, fun, and unexpected in typical Greenwood style. I wish it had continued for a just a couple more paragrpahs, but alas, it is what we have. Maybe, Tyche willing, we will get more shorts of Elminster's early life later on. This story is Good, and one you should read if a fan of the Old Mage.

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You can track my current progress here.

Review: Dark Times in Hastarl by Ed Greenwood

 Dark Times in Hastarl is a direct followup to Far Too Many Thieves (my review here), so like the previous story, it is a cut piece from part two of the first Elminster book, The Making of a Mage, which you should read first. If you have read the prerequisites, you can find the story for free on the web archive here. It was published in August 2005.

This is "just before the Velvet Hands assault Trumpettower House on a certain notorious wedding night", which you can read about in chapter 6 of the novel. A band of five or so Velvet Hands go to Athalgard, the castle at the center of Hastarl, to thwart the Moonclaws they suspect to make a move on the magical Ioun stones held in the keep.

The encounter leaves them the target of a certain winged and clawed stone beast. The fight of which ends in a very much Greenwood fashion, that is funny but believable. At the end of the story, there are some definitely some things that lend the story its title of "Dark Times". I was shocked, but Farl and Tass have very different fates here than in the published novel. I couldn't say which I prefer, though one is sadder than the other. I'm interested to see how this plot-line will be finished up in Revenge Among Thieves, and how young Elminster fares.

As for Dark Times in Hastarl, the story is Exceptional.

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Review: A Ghost of a Chance by Ed Greenwood

 Like Far Too Many Thieves, A Ghost of a Chance is a cut piece from Elminster: The Making of a Mage. This one is specifically for part one of the story, "near the bottom of page 51 of the paperback edition" is where this piece fits in. It was released in July 2005 on the old Wizards website, and can now be read on the web archive for free here. This is not a direct sequel to Far Too Many Thieves, but the next two cut tales are, I will get to those shortly.

Elminster the Brigand

Elminster is a brigand, following the exiled Knight Helm Stoneblade in the kingdom of Athalantar. The year is 224 DR, and magelords rule from Athalgard in the capital of Hastarl. Elminster is on his way to the Woodsedge Inn ran by Broam north of Jander (a town no longer in existence, but one Ed says was north-northeast of present day Secomber, and long reclaimed by the trees of the High Forest); it is the middle of winter.

We see the expletive "naed" also sometimes seen as "naeth", this means "dung" for those curious. What was a quick and uneventful trip in the final book, turns out to be quite harrowing to young Elminster. An encounter with a magelord that involved cold nighttime running as fireballs rain down, and a haunted cairn make for Elminster's survival ghostly slim.

A Ghost of a Chance is a fun, mythical tale about the rightful Prince of Athalantar. I really enjoyed it overall, and it was a Good read for anyone who enjoyed the final book.

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Review: Far Too Many Thieves by Ed Greenwood

 Far Too Many Thieves is the first of four stories cut from Elminster: The Making of a Mage, the first book of the Elminster series that you should read before this tale, which I thought was great (you can read my whole review here). Beyond the four cut stories, there is also a fifth story that takes place before the novel that can be found in The Best of the Realms II anthology. Far Too Many Thieves was released on the web in June of 2005 in celebration of the anthology's release a month later; it can be read for free here in the web archive.

Eladar the Dark

This story is set during Elminster's time as a thief on the streets of Hastarl, when his alias was Eladar the Dark, as he was attempting to hide his identity as a Prince of Athalantar from the tyrannical magelords. This story would fit late into part two of Making of a Mage, as Farl and El have already formed the Velvet Hands, a band of thieves.

The story follows a falling out that occurred during the formation of the gang, as different parties vied for leadership. It’s nice to know what ended up happening to those who walked out, as we are left hanging in the book.

Our anti-heroes have a nice brawl with the Moonclaws, with daggers and arrows missing and hitting their targets. I appreciate how often they miss, as it makes them seem fallible compared to other fantasy stories, always hitting their targets. We  learn the fate of the youth Rhegaer, who I was curious about because of his similar name to another character from another fantasy world that also has a similarly royal families symbol being a stag. 

By the end, weakened by the assault, the Velvet Hands decide to get to the bottom of who is supplying the Moonclaws. This tale is very short and more of a first part of a chapter, that will likely be continued in the next stories. As it goes, it was a pleasure to be back on the streets of Hastarl with El, Farl, and Tassabra. Fans of the book should read this, it is Good.

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Review: Elminster: The Making of a Mage by Ed Greenwood

Somewhat surprisingly this is not the first book Ed Greenwood wrote for the Forgotten Realms. Elminster has been a staple since he appeared in Dragon Magazine way back in 1981, but this book was released in 1994, after he had already written the first two books of Shandril’s Saga. As of right now, since the books in the series seem to follow standalone arcs, I will be reviewing the five books separately. 

The prelude has 14th century Lord Mourngrym of Shadowdale searching for Elminster to no avail. He is left wondering about the origins of Elminster has he searches, and swiftly comes a prologue set more than a thousand years before as a mysterious lady known as Myrjala Darkeyes traveling through the remnants of Halangorn Forest, part of the Forlorn Hills in the kingdom of Athalantar, the ancient home of young Elminster. Right off the bat, we can say this is before 304 DR, as Tavaray is still around.

Athalantar, Elminster's homeland, does not exist in the 14th and 15th centuries of Dale Reckoning. In the Delimbiyr Vale, the capital Hastarl’s ruins were built upon to make Secomber. Some of the people of the kingdom became part of the Blue Bear Tribe and Tree Ghost Tribe of the Uthgardt; others settled in the regions of Baldur’s Gate. Personally after reading this, making a member of the Trumpettower family is really enticing.

The book is divided into parts, part one being called Brigand.

“. . . gods interested in the Kingdom of the Stag seemed in short supply these days.”

By chapter one you’ll notice  epigraphs for each chapter, a very nice edition that I enjoy in just about any book. We also meet young Elminster, called El, as he watches over a flock of sheep outside of Heldon. We discover it is the Year of the Flaming Forest (probably in reference to Halangorn), which if you decide to look up, is 224 DR. Finally we learn that Elminster’s father, Elthryn, is Lord of Heldon. This truly feels like a different place from the Realms I am used to; the land is a wild petty kingdom with little order beyond whatever the most powerful person can enforce.

With so many ancient cities and nations thrown around, a map would have been helpful. There are even  short references to Tyche, so we can surmise that the Dawn Cataclysm wasn’t quite complete by this point, as she is not yet the dual goddesses Tymora and Beshaba. This book is not as all over the place like many a Greenwood works are, it’s more meticulous and a steady march. 

"Theives? Ah, such an ugly word . . . think of them instead as kings-in-training. Ye seem upset, even disputations. Well, then look upon them as the most honest sort of merchant."

The Annotated Elminster omnibus

Seeing as this is a coming-of-age tale, we jump forward in years multiple times. This first jump is four years into he future to 228 DR. Then a shorter one to 229 DR.  There is another time jump that doesn’t last too long in part three, and in part four we go forward to 233 DR, have a few more jumps and end in 240 DR, making Elminster about 28 years of age at the end of the story.

One sad thing I will mention, if you know Forgotten Realms, you know Elminster, we know he’ll be okay in this origin story because we know he becomes the Sage of Shadowdale. We also know what happens to a certain goddess in 1385 DR.

Part two was a lot more interesting than part one, and going into part three I was excited where the story would go, especially since this part was titled “Priest”, and since nothing is foreshadowed of that sort before hand, it’s not much of a spoiler. The story gets even more interesting and entertaining here.

As a lad, young Elminster takes the name Eladar to hide his identity from the forces of the magelords in Athalantar. Later he is given an even better disguise.

 “You’re not a pretty lass.”

The tone of this story was refreshing, it was not full of a party of high adventurers on an epic quest (though there is a section with this), it’s long and challenging and personal. I really liked it, especially with the odd twist and turns El’s life takes.

This story is really magical, and getting closer to the end I started getting a little sad it was going to stop. I started to relish every page. Elminster doesn’t have it easy, if he did, the story would be about one third the size, and I am pretty sure Greenwood had to shorten the tale anyhow, as there are a handful of short stories about the Young Elminster in a few places.

“He told me the One True Spell was a woman, that her name was Mystra—and that her kisses were wonderful.”

Beyond our main protagonist of Elminster, there are other good characters that have that sense of verisimilitude and flare Greenwood conjures: Helm, Myrjala, Braer, Farl, Darrigo, Dorgon Heamiiolothtar (being the Magister Elminster met) were all fun to get to know.

A Star rushes past, to crash upon the shore

But the first of many many more

Stoke the fire and stout bar the door

For this is the night mages go to war.

Even though magic is quite promulgated in Faerun, this is a good example of wanton, arrogant power and distrust not making a sturdy ruling foundation. My love of the character of Elminster grew tenfold during this book. He’s so human, he fails, and has humor. The book wasn’t perfect, the first part especially was a tad dry, but at the end I had chills and, oddly, even some tears in my eye for such a good wrap up to the beginnings of the most legendary of mages in Faerun: Elminster Aumar, Prince of Athalantar, Wizard, Chosen of Mystra, and so much more. Elminster is on the level of Gandalf, Dumbledore, Rincewind and Merlin (his foibles making him the most similar) in my mind. Elmisnter: The Making of a Mage is Exceptional. I need to get my hands on The Annotated Elminster, or at least Elminster Ascending.

“. . . even gods grow lonely.”

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Review: Haunted: A Tale of Sembia by Dave Gross

 Haunted: A Tale of Sembia is a short story by Dave Gross that can be found in Dragon Magazine issue 304, published February 2003. The story is on pages 68-77. This is the last Sembia tie-in short story, both to be read by me and it is also the last published, as this was a month before the release of  The Lord of Stormweather. You can check out my thoughts on other tie-in stories to Sembia through these links: And All the Sinners, Saints, Memories, Shamur's Wager, Another Name for Dawn, and Garden of Souls. 

The story takes place mostly over a two day period in the month of Flamerule 1374 DR, The Year of Wild Magic. There is also flashbacks to Flamerule and Uktar in the Year of the Crown, 1351 DR. This story is a good story to read if you are a fan of the hideous aquatic vampire, Stannis Malveen, and his formidable brother, Radu, from Gross's Sembian novel, Black Wolf. 

story art by Marc Sasso

The tale starts in Selgaunt, unsurprisingly, but our characters are not on the bustling streets or in an opulent manse, but instead are in the fetid sewers beneath the port city. The characters, the shade Chaney and cursed Radu soon come across  "Nightcarter[s]", another term for dungsweepers. I forgot how much I enjoyed their odd companionship.

There are a few flashbacks in this story, bringing up to Radu's youth when his mother was accused of piracy and the family stripped of holdings by the high probiter and held with extreme prejudice by the Old Chauncel. This story is the origin of the odd relationship that Radu has with his aquatic vampire elder brother: seeing the story art really shows just how hideous of a mephitic, nocturnal creature these are. 

This story is Exceptional, and largely because the contrast between Radu and Stannis. Radu is human, though maybe a little tainted at this point, but is largely a monster with how terrible he acts and murders. Stannis is somewhat of a fop, and seems more human than his younger brother even though on the outside he is a grotesque creature with a monstrous appetite for feeding on living beings. Package this with the comedic relief of the shade of the Dandy Chaney Foxmantle, and we have a fun story on our hands.

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You can track my current progress here.