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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
 Posted - 21 May 2009 : 15:15:00
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quote:
Originally posted by edappel
Finished The Stowaway..
It's really a nice book, I know it was made for teenagers, but even so, I felt a bit strange with so many "I".
I've been thinking about this for a bit. I thought the use of "I" was actually perfect for the book, since the whole idea is that the main character is recounting his story to a pirate who had captured him. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Rosemary Jones
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
148 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 19:32:20
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quote:
And they're all great supplements... As I've said before, it was Volo's Guide to Waterdeep that made me fall in love with the Realms. I have a copy of that and Volo's Guide to the North in my car, for those times my wife drags me someplace I don't want to go. 
I just wrote to Ed that Volo's Guide to Waterdeep was a major inspiration. One of the characters in City of the Dead has a much battered and abused old guidebook to the city as it used to be -- he adores it and it has brought him to Waterdeep. It is, of course, Volo's Guide that he found in barn, although the title is never actually revealed. I found one with MAPS just as I started writing City and it lived on my desk with Boyd's guide and Ed's notes about Waterdeep after the Spellplague.
There's also a small shout-out to Boyd's guide in City. A misprint that is in my edition which was morphed into the guide used in City.
There you go, background Easter egg. Win a copy of the book (see giveaway elsewhere) and you can go hunting for a few more.
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Rosemary Jones
www.rosemaryjones.com |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 22 May 2009 : 04:03:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Rosemary Jones
I just wrote to Ed that Volo's Guide to Waterdeep was a major inspiration. One of the characters in City of the Dead has a much battered and abused old guidebook to the city as it used to be -- he adores it and it has brought him to Waterdeep. It is, of course, Volo's Guide that he found in barn, although the title is never actually revealed.
That's very cute. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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mnb128
Learned Scribe
USA
130 Posts |
Posted - 24 May 2009 : 14:31:38
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Finished off Stormlight last night. I thought it was a pretty good romp. It reminded me a lot of Shadows of Doom taking place primarily in a castle fortress against an unknown foe. Can anyone tell me what the deal is with Storm and her nakedness? Is there some kind of inside joke to this or is it just Ed being Ed?
Next on my list is Soldiers of Ice. |
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edappel
Learned Scribe
Brazil
211 Posts |
Posted - 25 May 2009 : 19:20:18
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Finished Forsaken House... Already reading Farthest Reach..
It truly hooked me at the beginning... Sulkiira story was a good "hooking" story. But with my **** memory, it was hard to memorize every strange names of the book... Even now I have to think hard (or check at the glossary) to remember "Kileontheal", Dlardrageth, Araevin... Etc....
7,5/10 |
--- Ed Appel
*** I'm a brazilian FR fan. So, feel free to correct my writing mistakes to improve my english. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 May 2009 : 19:33:41
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quote:
Originally posted by mnb128
Can anyone tell me what the deal is with Storm and her nakedness? Is there some kind of inside joke to this or is it just Ed being Ed?
Ed has mentioned it a time or two over the years but mostly, it's Storm's insanity showing, if I recall right. Plus, she's hundreds of years old, why should she have issues about her body? So, she tends to enjoy being naked. Plus, she has been a slave and if I recall right, part of that slavery was in a harem..... |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2009 : 01:35:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by mnb128
Can anyone tell me what the deal is with Storm and her nakedness? Is there some kind of inside joke to this or is it just Ed being Ed?
Ed has mentioned it a time or two over the years but mostly, it's Storm's insanity showing, if I recall right. Plus, she's hundreds of years old, why should she have issues about her body? So, she tends to enjoy being naked. Plus, she has been a slave and if I recall right, part of that slavery was in a harem.....
Indeed. Here's part of one of those earlier replies from Ed:-
"In the case of the Seven Sisters, I see their need for the companionship of others (and casualness when it comes to nudity and to sex) as being born not out of social rebellion or drugs or an insecure need to ‘belong,’ and be at the center of “what’s happening,” but rather as the result of living for centuries, outliving generations of friends and loved ones, and trying to make up for the ever-growing grief and loneliness of being ‘The One Who Survives, And Is Left Alone Again, and Again, and Again.’ As I’ve said before on many occasions, none of the Chosen are probably anywhere near what we would judge as sane or ‘normal’ (whatever that is :})."
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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 |
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mnb128
Learned Scribe
USA
130 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2009 : 19:39:25
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by mnb128
Can anyone tell me what the deal is with Storm and her nakedness? Is there some kind of inside joke to this or is it just Ed being Ed?
Ed has mentioned it a time or two over the years but mostly, it's Storm's insanity showing, if I recall right. Plus, she's hundreds of years old, why should she have issues about her body? So, she tends to enjoy being naked. Plus, she has been a slave and if I recall right, part of that slavery was in a harem.....
Indeed. Here's part of one of those earlier replies from Ed:-
"In the case of the Seven Sisters, I see their need for the companionship of others (and casualness when it comes to nudity and to sex) as being born not out of social rebellion or drugs or an insecure need to ‘belong,’ and be at the center of “what’s happening,” but rather as the result of living for centuries, outliving generations of friends and loved ones, and trying to make up for the ever-growing grief and loneliness of being ‘The One Who Survives, And Is Left Alone Again, and Again, and Again.’ As I’ve said before on many occasions, none of the Chosen are probably anywhere near what we would judge as sane or ‘normal’ (whatever that is :})."
Thank you both for the insight. For the record, I have no problem with the nakedness. It just seemed to me that there had to be some story/lore behind it and I was curious. Thanks for taking the time to fill me in. |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
767 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2009 : 08:41:29
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Well, I have bought The Twilight War trilogy and Best of the Realms II and III recently, but I’m having the hardest time motivating myself to carry on reading, knowing that it is all for nothing. Except for some really long-lived characters, or fan-base darlings, none of the characters I’ve come to love in the novels have any continuity thanks to the Spellplague and/or ‘Ye Olde Century Jumpe’. I really thought that if I boycotted WotC with regards to anything post-Spellplague and just concentrate on getting my pre-Spellplague collection complete-ish, I could carry on enjoying what I enjoyed in the past. However, WotC has poisoned even that for me it seems…
I’m actually debating something I would not have dreamt of in the past, and that is to sell my collection of Realms novels. |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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mnb128
Learned Scribe
USA
130 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2009 : 15:33:09
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Finished off Soldiers of Ice last night. I'm not a huge fan of David Cook's writing style (this is the third novel of his that I've read after Horselords & Beyond the Moons). One of the biggest issues for me with this book was that there wasn't a single moment when I chuckled. The entire novel is 100% devoid of any humor. That being said, it wasn't bad. It just wasn't one of my favorites.
Next up is War in Tethyr. By the way, can anyone tell me the correct pronunciation for Tethyr (Tethur, Tethere, Tethire)?
Thanks. |
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swifty
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
517 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2009 : 22:33:23
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| er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also. |
go back to sleep america.everything is under control.heres american gladiators.watch this.shuttup. BILL HICKS. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36996 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2009 : 22:53:44
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quote:
Originally posted by swifty
er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also.
War in Tethyr is the only Realms novel I've started but never finished. It was entirely failing to interest me, when I first tried to read it -- which wasn't long after it came out. I need to go back and read it again sometime, and actually finish it. I've had my opinion of books change before, with the passage of a lot of time. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2009 : 00:55:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by swifty
er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also.
War in Tethyr is the only Realms novel I've started but never finished. It was entirely failing to interest me, when I first tried to read it -- which wasn't long after it came out. I need to go back and read it again sometime, and actually finish it. I've had my opinion of books change before, with the passage of a lot of time.
I've never not been able to finish a Realms novel. Regardless of how much I may not have enjoyed it, I always feel that I have to finish it, in case there's any new Realmslore revealed. |
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 |
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Dart Ambermoon
Learned Scribe
Germany
253 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2009 : 01:16:47
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I´m the same. There are some novels I really had to fight through page by page...but the hope for that blip which could become something great, that tiny morsel of lore enriching the realms or that answer to a small question have always kept me going. Though I have to say that, being a frequent re-reader of novels, there certainly are some I´d never re-read (which is about the harshest criticism I can lay on a FR novel *g*).
So...Ed´s Knights-Trilogy finale and "Downshadow" are the next FR novels awaiting my ravenous hnger for Realmslore...and after those I´ll give the first two "Wilds" novels a shot.
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~ In Finder I trust, for danger I lust ~ |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36996 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2009 : 01:27:34
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by swifty
er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also.
War in Tethyr is the only Realms novel I've started but never finished. It was entirely failing to interest me, when I first tried to read it -- which wasn't long after it came out. I need to go back and read it again sometime, and actually finish it. I've had my opinion of books change before, with the passage of a lot of time.
I've never not been able to finish a Realms novel. Regardless of how much I may not have enjoyed it, I always feel that I have to finish it, in case there's any new Realmslore revealed.
Well, when I tried to read that book, I wasn't quite the Realms junkie I am now. I didn't intentionally fail to finish the book, either. It hadn't grabbed me by page 100, so I set it aside for a while... and then never got back to it. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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mnb128
Learned Scribe
USA
130 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2009 : 02:05:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by swifty
er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also.
War in Tethyr is the only Realms novel I've started but never finished. It was entirely failing to interest me, when I first tried to read it -- which wasn't long after it came out. I need to go back and read it again sometime, and actually finish it. I've had my opinion of books change before, with the passage of a lot of time.
Well, with all these lofty reviews I just can't wait to tear into the 313 pages of extremeley small font found within. Seriously, I'm going to give it the old college try. Having read Silver Shadows I'm interested to read a bit more about Tethyr (once again, any help on the pronunciation?). |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2009 : 02:10:58
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Most Faerûnian names are regular in pronunciation: similar to English but with specific values for single and double vowels, and different stress patterns. But, that's an abstraction that doesn't take into account regional accents, which aren't much detailed in the lore.
In which case, I'd suspect any of your above examples would work -- depending upon your own personal interpretation.
Failing that, you could ask Ed or Steven. |
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 |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2009 : 02:14:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Dart Ambermoon
So...Ed´s Knights-Trilogy finale and "Downshadow" are the next FR novels awaiting my ravenous hunger for Realmslore...
Hope you enjoy--any questions you have about the realmslore presented in DS, you know where to find me! 
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" |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2009 : 09:39:37
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quote:
Originally posted by swifty
er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also.
I liket War in Tethyr. Not among the best Realms books, but of the ones I read from the noble series it was the best.
The Blue Öyster Cult quote (at least I think it was in that book)was a bit unnecessary though.
There are a few Realms novel I had a problem with finishing, but most of these were publised in the WotC era.
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2009 : 03:08:59
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| Hmmm, which quote are you thinking of? |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2009 : 10:05:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Hmmm, which quote are you thinking of?
The Deepspawn being referred to as "The nexus of the crisis and the origin of storms" a line from Astronomy, track four, side two of Secret Treaties 1974. I am 90% sure of this (the quote, not the album information), but my memory have played tricks on me before. It does stand out in the text though, so I should be on safe ground here.
I think I will have to go have a look at the book to be certain. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2009 : 10:55:54
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Found it.
Near the bottom of page 290, in the middle of the ranting about the creature.
And the reason for me not being irritated this time is not only that I am a Blue Öyster Cult fan. I am a huge Gillan and Deep Purple fan to, but I cant stand the Netheril idiocy. But you know, if you feel you have to include popular culture, then this is the way to do it. No Realms canon is changed or permanently labelled with an out of place name. |
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mnb128
Learned Scribe
USA
130 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2009 : 22:10:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
quote:
Originally posted by swifty
er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also.
I liket War in Tethyr. Not among the best Realms books, but of the ones I read from the noble series it was the best.
The Blue Öyster Cult quote (at least I think it was in that book)was a bit unnecessary though.
There are a few Realms novel I had a problem with finishing, but most of these were publised in the WotC era.
Finished War in Tethyr last night and actually didn't think it was bad. I only have 2 complaints. Victor Milan obviously has an exceptionally large vocabulary. He also, obviously, feels the need to show it off to the detriment of the novel. He has an annoying tendancy to use large, obscure words when a more common word would be just as effective and less annoying. It's kind of like doing back handsprings across the street when walking would do just fine and would also be less abnoxious. My only other complaint would be the epilogue. The rest of the storyline I enjoyed. It's the second Nobles book I've read and was much better than Escape from Undermountain.
Next up is Murder in Cormyr. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 31 May 2009 : 01:05:41
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quote:
Originally posted by mnb128
Victor Milan obviously has an exceptionally large vocabulary.
You should try reading his BattleTech novels. They're well worth the reading experience.
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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 |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 31 May 2009 : 12:20:44
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quote:
Originally posted by mnb128
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
quote:
Originally posted by swifty
er i know it sounds like im always slagging off certain realms novels but war in tethyr is shockingly bad.if youre reading through the harpers have you not read elfsong yet.decent book.masquerades was a good read also.
I liket War in Tethyr. Not among the best Realms books, but of the ones I read from the noble series it was the best.
The Blue Öyster Cult quote (at least I think it was in that book)was a bit unnecessary though.
There are a few Realms novel I had a problem with finishing, but most of these were publised in the WotC era.
Finished War in Tethyr last night and actually didn't think it was bad. I only have 2 complaints. Victor Milan obviously has an exceptionally large vocabulary. He also, obviously, feels the need to show it off to the detriment of the novel. He has an annoying tendancy to use large, obscure words when a more common word would be just as effective and less annoying. It's kind of like doing back handsprings across the street when walking would do just fine and would also be less abnoxious. My only other complaint would be the epilogue. The rest of the storyline I enjoyed. It's the second Nobles book I've read and was much better than Escape from Undermountain.
Next up is Murder in Cormyr.
Maybe that's why I like him. I like words and "purple prose"
Milan also co-wrote a sword and sorcery series in the 80's called The War of Powers. Pretty good and never to serious as it played with the genre clichés. If I remember correctly there was a dead philosopher in a jar that served the same function as the head in the Tethyr book. I think it was published by Playboy press of all things. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jun 2009 : 01:53:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Found it.
Near the bottom of page 290, in the middle of the ranting about the creature.
And the reason for me not being irritated this time is not only that I am a Blue Öyster Cult fan. I am a huge Gillan and Deep Purple fan to, but I cant stand the Netheril idiocy. But you know, if you feel you have to include popular culture, then this is the way to do it. No Realms canon is changed or permanently labelled with an out of place name.
Good point. And thanks for the information. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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mnb128
Learned Scribe
USA
130 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jun 2009 : 01:09:30
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Finished Murder in Cormyr on a nice short flight across country and thought it was a good light read. It felt different than the majority of realms books that I've read, but not in a bad way.
I have now moved on to The Lost Library of Cormanthyr. |
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Dart Ambermoon
Learned Scribe
Germany
253 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jun 2009 : 01:22:09
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| I enjoyed "Murder in Cormyr" aswell. I agree that it "felt different" than most Realms books of that time, but I found it, like you, a good light read with some fun moments and interesting plot hooks. |
~ In Finder I trust, for danger I lust ~ |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jun 2009 : 10:30:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Found it.
Near the bottom of page 290, in the middle of the ranting about the creature.
And the reason for me not being irritated this time is not only that I am a Blue Öyster Cult fan. I am a huge Gillan and Deep Purple fan to, but I cant stand the Netheril idiocy. But you know, if you feel you have to include popular culture, then this is the way to do it. No Realms canon is changed or permanently labelled with an out of place name.
Good point. And thanks for the information.
No problem. Any excuse to come up with rock trivia.
I just finished rereading Curse of the Shadowmage. It still holds up pretty well, despite a few awkward moments. |
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mnb128
Learned Scribe
USA
130 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jun 2009 : 23:31:23
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Finished The Lost Library of Cormanthyr. It was my first Mel Odom book and although it wasn't what I expected it to be, I thought it was a really solid book. I was hoping it would shed more light on Myth Drannor and actually take place there, at least in part. However, that wasn't the case. As I said, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I am now through 1 chapter of The Nether Scroll. |
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How up to date are you with reading FR novels?
Topic Locked
