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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Mar 2005 : 13:43:47
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The novel I'm speaking of is Son of Thunder, which is Fighters #3, due out next January. Zhentarim play a large role in this novel, which will find Geildarr in the same sort of dilemma that Sememmon faced -- with the Banites taking over more and more of the Network, do I stay or do I go?
So -- no Zhentarim revival (not from me, at least), no RSE, just one author deciding to make us of them more prominently than they have been for a while. I always felt a little sorry for the Zhents, actually. How many novels are there in which they serve as secondary villains, made subtly wimpy to make the main villain looks meaner by comparison?
This will not exactly be a return to form for the Zhents, mind. I hope you'll be pleased, and that it'll have some of the flavour of the Realms novels that I started reading so long ago. |
Edited by - Murray Leeder on 25 Mar 2005 22:50:45 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 01 Apr 2005 : 00:51:01
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Hey Murray
From your recent post, the novel will be set in the time period before the events in "Forsaken House". That would make it 1372-ish?
I note that you mention a short story that will be about Uthgar Gardolffson (although in your post you call him "Uther". Umm, with respect, he's never been noted as "Uther" in any of the sources on the North). Hopefully you'll have read the "Old North" timeline in the new "Lost Empires of Faerun" product which tracks Uthgar's actions before his apotheosis and notes some history on the Uthgardt tribes. I'd also point you toward Eric Boyd's "Mintiper's Chapbook" web-series (on the FR WotC website - Archives) which details, inter alia, much lore on the Uthgardt (subsequently incorporated into LEoF - at least, timeline-wise).
Looking forward to having a read of it in January.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
Edited by - George Krashos on 01 Apr 2005 00:55:40 |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 01 Apr 2005 : 15:19:56
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Hey Murray
From your recent post, the novel will be set in the time period before the events in "Forsaken House". That would make it 1372-ish?
I note that you mention a short story that will be about Uthgar Gardolffson (although in your post you call him "Uther". Umm, with respect, he's never been noted as "Uther" in any of the sources on the North). Hopefully you'll have read the "Old North" timeline in the new "Lost Empires of Faerun" product which tracks Uthgar's actions before his apotheosis and notes some history on the Uthgardt tribes. I'd also point you toward Eric Boyd's "Mintiper's Chapbook" web-series (on the FR WotC website - Archives) which details, inter alia, much lore on the Uthgardt (subsequently incorporated into LEoF - at least, timeline-wise).
Looking forward to having a read of it in January.
-- George Krashos
It'll be in set in the fall of 1373... I needed to skew it just behind the current-current timeline so it could take place in the fall.
Uthgar's mortal name is given as "Uther Gardolffson" in the very oldest source, The Savage Frontier accessory by Paul Jacquays, in which both Uthgar and the Uthgardt were created. It's the same in The North boxed set. Heck, now that I check it, even Faiths and Pantheons calls him Uther. Admittedly, there has been some inconsistency here (Silver Marches calls him "Uthgar Gardolfsson," for one). The story makes some use of the Uther/Uthgar dichotomy, believe me. As far as Realmslore goes, I took the unusual step of sending the short story to Eric L. Boyd to see if it passes muster. So I wouldn't worry.
I discovered the Mintiper's Chapbook material long ago, and you'll find that some of it comes out in Son of Thunder. |
Edited by - Murray Leeder on 01 Apr 2005 20:01:02 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 02 Apr 2005 : 01:57:00
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Goodie!
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 01:18:11
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| I thought I'd note here that, in addition to containing my short story "The Strength of the Jester," Realms of the Dragons II contains an excerpt from my forthcoming novel Son of Thunder. And now that I've seen Raymond Swanland's covers for the first two of the Fighters series, I can't wait to see what he does with Son of Thunder -- my editor tells me that he'll illustrate the very sequence that appears in the excerpt. |
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Paec_djinn
Learned Scribe
173 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 08:33:54
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I just thought of this after a few times look through the RotD2 discussion. I'm really looking forward to this book. My question is how does it feel to be the "senior" author of the batch?
Just a random interesting question I thought of. |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2005 : 15:33:18
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Squote:
Originally posted by Paec_djinn
I just thought of this after a few times look through the RotD2 discussion. I'm really looking forward to this book. My question is how does it feel to be the "senior" author of the batch?
Just a random interesting question I thought of.
Hard to think in terms of seniority, really. I'm just happy to be in such a strong pack. |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
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Brom Greenstar
Acolyte
Argentina
25 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2005 : 21:11:04
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| Murray, what happened to the story of Uther? will it be published? when? |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5692 Posts |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2005 : 04:21:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Brom Greenstar
Murray, what happened to the story of Uther? will it be published? when?
Ah, that. I recently found out that Dragon magazine has decided not to print it. They gave it the okay a year ago, but agendas shift there very often and I think fiction is getting the slip. Perhaps I'll find some other place to bring it to light. |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5692 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2005 : 09:33:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Murray Leeder
quote:
Originally posted by Brom Greenstar
Murray, what happened to the story of Uther? will it be published? when?
Ah, that. I recently found out that Dragon magazine has decided not to print it. They gave it the okay a year ago, but agendas shift there very often and I think fiction is getting the slip. Perhaps I'll find some other place to bring it to light.
Well met
Look no further! ::slides piles of scrolls off a shelf:: |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2005 : 22:49:38
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Hey Murray
For some reason the above link doesn't seem to work at the moment.
Shame re the fiction piece - a good way to grab readers and get them to buy the book. Would they take it for the "Legendology" site they've got running on the WotC website?
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2005 : 22:54:41
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I noticed that as well! Erik to the rescue!
Son of Thunder
('Course, that one might not work either. Heh.)
Good blurb they've got, Murray.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
Edited by - Erik Scott de Bie on 02 Nov 2005 22:57:00 |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2005 : 23:37:32
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Oops, sorry about that. Thanks for bailing me out, Erik.
George: I've been discussing other options for the short story, "The Bones of the Beast," and it looks like some kind of publication on the official website will indeed happen. |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2005 : 05:20:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Murray Leeder
Oops, sorry about that. Thanks for bailing me out, Erik.
George: I've been discussing other options for the short story, "The Bones of the Beast," and it looks like some kind of publication on the official website will indeed happen.
Yay! Good stuff. As a fan of the North, I'm looking forward to "Son of Thunder".
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2066 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2006 : 20:56:22
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I sent Murray a private note, but I wanted to comment publicly as well. I thought "Son of Thunder" was a very enjoyable read. Murray did a great job exploring the history and the nature of the Uthgardt peoples and in conveying the mystery of the High Forest. I won't go in to spoilers here, but I thought he did a great job adding a secret history to the Thunderbeast tribe.
--Eric |
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http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jan 2006 : 00:58:09
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| Thanks for the public endorsement! Eric, of course, formulated quite a lot of the history and lore I tap for Son of Thunder, especially through the fantastic Mintiper's Chapbook series. Son of Thunder is a house built on other people's foundations, and without people like Eric surely would not exist. |
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Braveheart
Learned Scribe
Austria
159 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2006 : 16:01:12
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Hi Murray,
just wanted to say that I enjoyed your book a lot. Especially the huge amount of references to other parts of the Realms is something I've missed in some other recent novels (except for Ghostwalker, which had quite the same feeling to it).
The ending was quite fitting too and I was impressed that the final battle already started around page 260 and you could hold the pace til the end. I'm looking forward to read more novels from your pen (or keyboard  )
Keep up the good work!
Braveheart |
Jarlaxle: "Do keep ever present in your thoughts, my friend, that an illusion can kill you if you believe in it."
Entreri: "And the real thing can kill you whether you believe in it or not." |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2006 : 17:30:00
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| Thanks Braveheart. Glad you enjoyed it. It was always important to me that I located my story within the established Realms (especially given that I was dealing with such key players as the Zhentarim). I had a blast writing the ending battle and I wanted to make sure it had the proper scale -- glad that came off! |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 04:45:59
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| I thought I might share with you news of one of my proudest publications, which is coming out fairly soon. It's called "Closet and Confessional: Television and Hybridity in Mambo Italiano" and will appear in the spring 2006 issue of the Canadian Journal of Film Studies. It's my first academic publication. Hopefully not to be the last! |
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EytanBernstein
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
704 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 05:38:16
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| Congratulations! It's always nice to see people who write in a broad spectrum of fields and genres. |
http://eytanbernstein.com - the official website of Eytan Bernstein |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2006 : 05:58:59
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A hearty congrats Murray  .
And I've relatives in Canada... so I may just get them to mail me a copy of that journal .
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 02 May 2006 06:00:49 |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2006 : 05:47:50
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Mr. Leeder,
-Just wanted to say that Son of Thunder was a great read! I was never too interested in the northern barbarian tribes, but once I got past a certain point, I could not put the book down. Are you planning on penning any new Forgotten Realms novels in the future, if given the chance? And, if you could write any one story, without any restrictions from WotC, what would it be? |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2006 : 04:26:45
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Thanks for the clarification on James's scroll on the 2 Frank Blacks.
I greatly enjoyed "Son of Thunder", but read it before I discovered Candlekeep and the Book Club or I would have been quick to heap great praise upon you in each section! I beleive the only other experience I have had with the Barbarians was a story with the Sky Ponies(I am undergoing a brain freeze on the Name of the story and maybe I'm wrong on the tribe too? Hell maybe I just made that up and convinced myself)
You did a great job of giving a usually under-developed character type much needed depth. Enough to form definate opinions and feelings about almost all of them in the your story. You most assuredly did not use the crutch of "cloning" a few barbarians to fill it out. Each one you introduced was unique.
Great work!
I was also curious if you are or will be working on anything Realms related?
Thank You. |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2006 : 14:39:03
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Hi Red Walker. I'm glad my work clicked with you. I like what you're saying about character differentiation; that was something that was very important to me when I was writing.
Nothing else Realms-related on the present slate, but who knows about the future? I've actually just finished writing a haunted house novel that's been a back-burner project of mine for quite a few years and I'm anxious to start shopping it properly. But then I also just started a Ph.D. So much to do all of a sudden! |
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Murray Leeder
Forgotten Realms Author
Canada
228 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2006 : 14:40:59
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| By the way, might you be thinking of the encounters with the Sky Ponies in a couple of R.A. Salvatore's books -- Streams of Silver and The Silent Blade, if I remember correctly. |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2006 : 02:30:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Murray Leeder
By the way, might you be thinking of the encounters with the Sky Ponies in a couple of R.A. Salvatore's books -- Streams of Silver and The Silent Blade, if I remember correctly.
Thanks Murray,
That sounds familiar, maybe the one where "Drunken Wulgar" runs away.(Spine of the World maybe) I seem to remember something about the Shaman perverting the tribes Totem. |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Questions for Murray Leeder
