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Scot Storm
Acolyte
29 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Mar 2006 : 04:57:06
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Hello fellow scribes and great ones of the keepers of Candlekeep.
I wanted to post a new topic well old topic for years but the Moonshae Trilogy of King Tristan Kendrick. I hear of R.A. Salvatores
classic and beautiful trilogys of Drizzit DoUrden but long before I read Them I read Douglas Niles Darwalker Wars, The Black Wizards and Darkwell. What a blast from the past. I high recomend them and even considering buying them again on Amazon for cheaper then when I bought them when they first came out.
Storm
Mod edit: During my latest foray into the etherverse... I found this particular scroll floating.
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Edited by - The Sage on 04 Mar 2006 06:11:48
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2006 : 15:25:21
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I too enjoyed this trilogy. From my understanding of my fellow scribes though, it was not the most popular, but to each their own 
I read these right after spellfire, my first realms novel, and I was first drawn to the cover art. |
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Faramicos
Senior Scribe
Denmark
468 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2006 : 16:33:37
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| The moonshae trilogy was my first encounter with the realms... A realy good trilogy and some of my personal favorits... |
"When dragons make war, worlds can only tremble in the shadow of angry wings" |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36876 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2006 : 16:39:40
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I couldn't wait to finish reading the Moonshae trilogy... Not because I enjoyed it, but because I just wanted it to be over. I don't dislike the trilogy, I just don't care for it.
The second trilogy, the Druidhome trilogy, was a lot better -- but that's not saying much. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2006 : 16:53:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I couldn't wait to finish reading the Moonshae trilogy... Not because I enjoyed it, but because I just wanted it to be over. I don't dislike the trilogy, I just don't care for it.
The second trilogy, the Druidhome trilogy, was a lot better -- but that's not saying much.
Your funny Wooly, and here I thought for a moment you liked the trilogy. I think that it had a differant feel than most realms novels, but in it's defense it was the first published FR trilogy, if I am remembering correctly. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36876 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2006 : 17:44:08
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| I believe the Moonshae trilogy was written for a generic setting, and was later shoehorned into the Realms. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 04 Mar 2006 : 19:43:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I believe the Moonshae trilogy was written for a generic setting, and was later shoehorned into the Realms.
Dragonlance actually. :) |
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 - 05 Mar 2006 : 01:08:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I believe the Moonshae trilogy was written for a generic setting, and was later shoehorned into the Realms.
Dragonlance actually. :)
Indeed it was. Doug Niles and Jeff Grubb originally intended to fit the entire storyline into the events of Krynn. A specific location was never named as I recall, and it was only later that the emphasis shifted to a purely Realms-based story.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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Scot Storm
Acolyte
29 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 01:12:25
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| I have to disagree with the great ones. I loved the struggles of Tristan Kendrick and the epic battles that happened. I have not read them in years but I was 15 years old reading them and Bhaal trying to take over the Moonshaes was interesting and in fact classic as Ive read a few trilogies and hadn't found that same chemistry of epic battles. |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 03:51:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Scot Storm
I have to disagree with the great ones. I loved the struggles of Tristan Kendrick and the epic battles that happened. I have not read them in years but I was 15 years old reading them and Bhaal trying to take over the Moonshaes was interesting and in fact classic as Ive read a few trilogies and hadn't found that same chemistry of epic battles.
I would agree, and I was about the same age when I first read the 2 trilogies. While admittingly not the best realms novels, they still have lots to offer. magic, gods interacting, wars, some on a larger scale, elves, dwarves, a good mixed group of adventures ( for the time period and edition that was out anyways), with good background info, and a decent plot. If it would have taken place the main land I might have balked more at it, but kept primarily to the island realm was great IMO, Same feelings about the maztica line. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36876 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 04:13:45
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*shrugs* To each his own, and all that. It's just like with Drizzt: for every one of us who's tired of Drizzt and wishes he would go away, there's someone else who starts drooling in anticipation at the very mention of a new Drizzt tale.
But it's all good. The Realms is big enough for all of us. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 05:38:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I believe the Moonshae trilogy was written for a generic setting, and was later shoehorned into the Realms.
That's a major turnoff for me. You can usually tell when a story just doesn't have that "Realmsian" feel to it. |
"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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 06:40:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
*shrugs* To each his own, and all that. It's just like with Drizzt: for every one of us who's tired of Drizzt and wishes he would go away, there's someone else who starts drooling in anticipation at the very mention of a new Drizzt tale.
But it's all good. The Realms is big enough for all of us.
That's the same for me as well.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Moonshae trilogy, but I think a large part of that enjoyment itself (and I know I've said it before here) was the fact that this was my first Realms trilogy. I managed to nab a copy of Darkwalker on Moonshae after only a few days of its initial release... so naturally the wonder and excitement of reading about a new fantasy world (since I'd only really had DL before this) likely worked toward me finding the trilogy so enjoyable.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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Sarta
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 06:52:46
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I read them when they first came out. I don't recall a lot of the details, but remember enough to know that they're low on the list of realms books to be read again.
Although I do have a bit of a soft-spot for Kazgoroth. |
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Beezy
Learned Scribe
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 22:13:38
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| I was not a huge fan of these novels either. The were not bad but they did not have a realms feel to them. The second trilogy was better but I still would not rate it high on my re-read list either. |
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Saime
Acolyte
Denmark
21 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 22:15:57
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The Moonshae Trilogy was the first Forgotten Realms novels I ever read. It’s still among my favourites. Somehow the novels made me care about the characters in a way I haven’t really experienced with any other FR novel.
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Trace_Coburn
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
137 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2006 : 23:52:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Saime
The Moonshae Trilogy was the first Forgotten Realms novels I ever read. It’s still among my favourites. Somehow the novels made me care about the characters in a way I haven’t really experienced with any other FR novel.
Me, I came to Darkwalker on Moonshae *after* reading the Azure Bonds trilogy, and I loved it - maybe it was the lack of overt flashy magic, but it combined a sweeping tale of drastic regional import with a very gritty, low-level feel, creating a 'pseudo-medieval' versimilitude that really appealed to me (and indeed has influenced my own campaign and writing styles to this day). There was no explicit mention of mystical weapons (though the Red Rider leader's blade does read like a prototypical sword of wounding); heavy use of magic was outside most peoples' ken; the 'party' had an actual body-count, and genuine peril to the main characters always adds to the tension; creatures like the displacer-beast which killed Daryth were abnormal, wonderous and horrible things, to be feared (rather than many gamers' reaction of "\Fireball\! End of random encounter!"); and the heroes scraped through against a horrific, overpowering adversary by the skin of their teeth and sheer determination. Niles' writing created real dramatic tension, because the heroes were behind the eight-ball almost from the outset and for the most part, they knew it. 
That probably makes me the exception to prove the rule, and I'll grant that it doesn't feel very 'Realmsian' simply because of its sparing use of Mystic Arts and the Realms as a whole is a fairly high-magic environment. Personally, I like to use magic and mystical Aberrations a little more sparingly than most other writers/creators do, making each one worthy of "Wow, that's really cool!"/"Holy CRAP what the hell is that!?" rather than an everyday "so what?", so you might say that the first trilogy played to my own tastes quite well. 
I haven't had the chance to ever read the second Moonshaes trilogy, so I'll refrain from commenting.  |
D&D collection: Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual I, Complete Arcane, Arms & Equipment Guide.
FR sourcebook collection: Dragons of Faerûn, Faiths & Pantheons, FRCS, Lords of Darkness, Monsters of Faerûn, Player's Guide to Faerûn, Power of Faerûn, Races of Faerûn, Silver Marches.
I just got back into this, okay? Give me time (or better yet money) - I'll catch up soon enough. |
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Beezy
Learned Scribe
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 01:04:20
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| I did not read the Moonshae trilogy until I had already read like 30 something FR novels and so it stuck out as a little odd and different from the rest. If I had read it earlier I may have liked it better because it would have seemed to stick out less. |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 03:49:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Beezy
I did not read the Moonshae trilogy until I had already read like 30 something FR novels and so it stuck out as a little odd and different from the rest. If I had read it earlier I may have liked it better because it would have seemed to stick out less.
Exactly Beezy, if we would have been introduced to other realms novels, prior, we would all have had a different opinion. I think this would have been the same regardless of what novels were published first for the realms. The realms as a whole has changed alot since I started hanging around it in the late 80's. It is a shared world and subject to change. earlier tonight, while my wife was watching the oscars, I was reading rule 1 in the FRCS, it states to the effect, of make it your own and use what suits you. every single one of us has a different world that is the realms, and each and every one of them are outstanding.
oh yeah, by the way I am at 142 realms novels. |
Edited by - scererar on 06 Mar 2006 04:18:21 |
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Beezy
Learned Scribe
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 16:52:28
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I am nearly complete with my realms novels. I read the moonshaes when I was in middle school about 12 years ago.
I have only yet to read the following:
Master of Chains
Vanity's Brood
City of Splendors
Maiden of Pain
Queen of the Depths
Mistress of the Night
Whisper of Waves
Forsaken House
Farthest Reach
The Sapphire Crescent
The Ruby Guardian
The Emerald Sceptre
Out of those I own them all except City of Splendors and my book store has yet to get Vanity's Brood in stock. I lost count of how many I have read
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Scot Storm
Acolyte
29 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 23:44:07
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Well gentlemen and ladies I think it didn't have a feel of being part of the realms was because the moonshea isles are so far from the mainland and have been lost in realmslore.
Storm |
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Scot Storm
Acolyte
29 Posts |
Posted - 09 Mar 2006 : 23:52:29
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Anybody still use the moonshea isles in their campaigns? I haven't heard much about them aftertraveling the mainland amongst the books
and lore. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 00:15:30
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I haven't.
The last time I ran a Moonshae campaign was just after the second Moonshae trilogy was released. Unfortunately though, thanks largely to player attitudes... the adventures themselves ended up taking place more on the Sword Coast than actually on the island kingdom.
I can't see my organising another campaign there any time soon since three of the original players from that group are players that are also part of my current FR group.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 03:24:52
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| I've used the Moonshaes on and off over the years but like most of my campaigns, the PC's never stay in one place. Let's just say, one of them decided to jump into a moonwell and I was cackling my DM cackle when she found out she got thrown 20,000 years into the past. :) This is why some PC's are over 20,000 years old.... well also existing in modern time. It's just a weird time warp, don't ask. :) I know I made them go cross-eyed but I understood it and they were like, "That's all that needs to be done then, as long as you understand how we can exist in two places at once." |
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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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2006 : 05:34:18
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| While enjoying the trilogy, I still think the Moonshea area does not have, what in my opinion, is the realms feel. I have never held a campaign there and probably never will. |
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Moonshae Trilogys
