Any good books?

ThorinOakensfield · Post by **ThorinOakensfield** » Tue Jul 17, 2001 10:21 am

I've read the Salvatore books and I was wondering if there are any other good books in FR setting.

CM · Post by CM » Tue Jul 17, 2001 2:20 pm

6 books on elminster by Ed greenwood are good.
But 3 are out of print i think.
Check amazon for the exact names.
They are good.
Then there is Elaine Cunningham heck here is a link of all the books that you can still buy.
[url="http://www.wizards.com/books/main.asp?x=forgottenrealms/articles/novellist,1&b=forgottenrealms"]http://www.wizards.com/books/main.asp?x=forgottenrealms/articles/novellist,1&b=forgottenrealms[/url]

rapier · Post by **rapier** » Tue Jul 17, 2001 5:34 pm

I, personally found the Greenwood books pretty weak in comparison to the Salvatore ones, but that's just my opinion...

mikeheitz · Post by **mikeheitz** » Thu Jul 19, 2001 9:47 am

Well, Salvatore is a GOD, in my book, but I have read a couple Greenwood books and they are not bad.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Sun Jul 22, 2001 4:51 pm

Greenwood's books are okay; high on concept and plot but they tend to drag (a lot) and are hard to read. Salvatore's early series, The Icewind Dale Trilogy and The Dark Elf Trilogy were his best; I thought that The Cleric Quintet was weak, and that the later Drizzt Do'Urden books got a bit tedius, although Servant of the Shard was pretty good.

Elaine Cunningham is also very good, particularly Daughter of the Drow and Tangled Webs.

I also enjoyed The Finder's Stone Trilogy beginning with Curse of the Azure Bonds, but that may have been because had to do with the old SSI video game.

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Sun Jul 22, 2001 4:59 pm

Whatever you do, don't read Baldurs Gate, and Shadows of Amn. Both extremly weak books, and very repetetive. I'm not sure if that is just because they were based on games, or because they were done by a weak author. All I know is that I've seen chain smoking monkies turn out better work.

josh · Post by **josh** » Sun Jul 22, 2001 6:26 pm

I recommend "Evermeet: Island of the Elves" by Elaine Cunningham. Best one I've read so far.

CM · Post by CM » Mon Jul 23, 2001 3:12 am

Eliane is good.
I found the Song and Swords - the 5 books.
Were very good.
Also Richard Awlison, who was actually Greenwood, Troy and some third person was good.
It is the book on the time of troubles.
Avatar trilogy i think it is called.

ThorinOakensfield · Post by **ThorinOakensfield** » Mon Jul 23, 2001 6:57 pm

Salvatore is definetly the best author in the FR setting. Unlike other authors his books have a lot of battles, which is the reason everybody loves him. Icewindale Trioligy was the greatest because there was alot of adventure with all the characters up and down the sword coast. Dark Elf trioligy was intersting stuff about Underdark, but Sojourn wasn't too good. Homeland is my favorite Drizzt book. I love the drow elves and i wished Drizzt stayed on in the city and fought side by side with Zak ripping apart drow houses. Legacy of the Drow series was ok. I loved Siege of Darkness but Salvatore didn't give Drizzt too many big battles(in that book), except against the glabrezu and the drow priestesses. I would have liked a battle between him and Utengal. It would have been an intersting battle. Uthengal may not be as quick or skilled with the sword as Eterni or Drizzt but his strength, constitution and weapons would make an intersting battle.

One question: Did Drizzt ever become a better warrior than Zak. I don't think so.
level 18 fighter + level 16 ranger makes level 22 or 23 warrior. Zak was level 24.

I read the harpers but those are quite boring. Evermeet seems quite interesting, but no other author gets so indepth with his or her chaacters like Bob. I also liked Salvatores race variety. Dark elf(drizzt), 2 humans(Wulfgar and catti brie), dwarf(Bruenor and some others (Pwent kind of)), halfing(regis), and a gnome(belwar).

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 8:17 am

Actually, the reason why most people like Salvatore are his characters. Many of his readers identify with Drizzt because he's an outcast from his own society, doesn't truly fit in with his adopted peoples, and has a streak of goodness and honor that D&D players and readers wish they had. Plus his inhuman (or inelven) combat abilities make him the idol of RPG nerds everywhere.

Salvatore's battle scences are some of the most boring parts of his books and the main reason why I though that the Legacy of the Drow series (The Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness, and Passage to Dawn) was below par for Salvatore. Instead of being character-driven, they were plot-driven, a serious blow to most books.

The Icewind Dale trilogy was cool because it was the first extended glimpse of the drow we ever got. Plus, we got an ultracool villain in Artemis Entreri. Where Salvatore truly solidified his fan base was with the Dark Elf Trilogy, and is wasn't the story that drove it, it was the soliloquies between the sections that made people identify with Drizzt because they let us into his consciouness in a way dialogue and plot will not allow.

If you want to read good battle scenes, Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks, The Illearth War by Stephen R. Donaldson (second book in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant), and the Timothy Zahn Star Wars books have them in abundance. I just get tired of parries, feints, kicks, and swirling blades after a couple of paragraphs. While entertaining, they don't keep my attention over the span of a novel. But a solid main character, a good supporting cast, and a nasty villain will keep me enraptured for a long, long time.

[ 07-26-2001: Message edited by: HighLordDave ]

mikeheitz · Post by **mikeheitz** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 8:53 am

Gotta disagree on the Terry Brooks vote. UGH! I read a couple of those and man was I bored. Just by 2 cents on that though...

Bob Salvatore also has a series called the Cleric's Quintet that I am currently reading that is pretty cool. One character is a dwarf that wants desperately to be a druid! Well developed characters and some good action. I definitely think his bad guys are tops in fantasy fiction.

I read the first in the Elminster series, and I know of a store that has a couple of the out of print ones and highly recommend those if you can find them.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Thu Jul 26, 2001 10:28 am

Terry Brooks is a hit-or-miss author. Most of his stuff is crap, but the best book in the Shannara series was Elfstones. His other good book was Magic Kingdom For Sale--Sold.

Brooks is one of those authors whose stuff is plot or story oriented, but Elfstones had a lot of good character development. Give it a chance if you can pick it up at the library. Don't mess with any of the other Shannara books.

I didn't care for the Cleric Quintet, so much so that I never finished the third book, much less the series. I just never found myself caring for Cadderly, Danica, or any of its other principals.

humanflyz · Post by **humanflyz** » Sat Jul 28, 2001 11:19 pm

Have you read any of David Edding's books. I recommend you to read the Belgariad series. His books become repetitive after a while. Also, read Robert Jordan.

PS: Tolkien rocks man! Thorin Oakenshield is one of my favorite characters in the Hobbit. Too bad that he died.

lex64 · Post by **lex64** » Wed Aug 22, 2001 4:48 am

Originally posted by humanflyz:
<STRONG>Have you read any of David Edding's books. I recommend you to read the Belgariad series. His books become repetitive after a while. Also, read Robert Jordan.

PS: Tolkien rocks man! Thorin Oakenshield is one of my favorite characters in the Hobbit. Too bad that he died.</STRONG>

lex64 · Post by **lex64** » Wed Aug 22, 2001 4:59 am

i don't remember the writer
but i liked the avatar series very much

McBane · Post by **McBane** » Wed Aug 29, 2001 8:47 am

The harper series was pretty good. They are not really interconnected, so you can just pick any and start. The Cormyr series, I forget the author, is good too.

Edding is a good author is you like character development. The themes of his plots are very straightforward, and you can substitute the plot line in the Belgariad for any of his other series. But, he really gets you into the characters in all of his books.

My favorite series though, is the MYTH series by Robert Aspirin. Man, are they a riot.

ThorinOakensfield · Post by **ThorinOakensfield** » Wed Aug 29, 2001 9:29 am

i just got some dragonlance books and they rock. I prefer them over the Forgotten Realm books. The only problem is that i'm so familiar with the Forgotten Realms setting; the gods, the planes, the races, the maps, etc...

Cinder_Lizard · Post by **Cinder_Lizard** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 7:48 pm

I like Salvatore and Cunningham best, but I've really found the anthologies to b worthwhile. ( feel free to disagree, just like everyone else i've said that to.)

If you're not specifically looking for D+D books, Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time' series is really, really good. The first book is called Eye of the World, and you really have to read them in order.

ThorinOakensfield · Post by **ThorinOakensfield** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 8:07 pm

Jordan books- I have some of those books lying around in the house. I know they aren't the D&D/Middle Earth fantasy, elves, halflings etc.. but just fantasy humans.
Some people seem to say they drag on, and are boring.

Cinder_Lizard · Post by **Cinder_Lizard** » Wed Sep 12, 2001 9:07 pm

The beginning of "Eye of the World" is slow, but it's worth the wait. I've only juststarted the next one, "The Great Hunt", myself. I highly reccomend it so far.