The Best of the Realms (Forgotten Realms Anthology) Review

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The Best of the Realms (Forgotten Realms Anthology) ReviewI bought this book primarily to get the R.A. Salvatore story that appears in it. This story is the only first-appearing story in the collection. The others are all reprints of stories that have appeared in the various "Realms of..." anthologies over the past decade or so. I will only review some of the other stories, since they have all appeared previously.
"Empty Joys" by Salvatore is the final story in the book, but I review it first since it is the only new story. This is another tale of Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle adventuring together. In this case, they join up with a band of highwaymen. Salvatore gives some tantalizing information regarding the nature of the relationship between the two fighters, giving some insight into how they regard one another. It seems that Jarlaxle might not be quite so trusting and cavalier toward Artemis as some readers might have thought.
"Rite of Blood" by Elaine Cunningham tells a story of a young drow female being subjected to her test of adulthood. The exposition was a bit long compared to a very abrupt resolution, but the treachery and deadly efficiency of the drow is driven home. My favorite part of this story is the mention of the drow Jarlaxle, suggesting to me that this story takes place further in the past than Salvatore's works. Other of Salvatore's characters appear and are good to meet again from a different writer.
"Elminster at the Magefair" by Ed Greenwood is an okay story, though the end is just unsatisfying. Again, there is great characterization and development early, only to suffer a brief conflict and resolution. Basically, Elminster is tricked into collecting a particular item, later being attacked in something of a robbery attempt. But the reader is left wondering about the backstory of the robber and the item(s) he was after.
"And the Dark Tide Rises" by Keith Strohm is a good story. A young man is lured by a sea elf to the shore and tasked with a mission. After completing his mission, he manages to get into some trouble trying to revisit said elf. The end is a pyrrhic victory at best. This story was very well-written, with good characterization and exposition.
"The Rose Window" by Monte Cook is just great. A priest acquires a special window for his abbey from another being torn down. He and his assistant begin seeing things in the glass, and things get progressively worse from there. Cook did a great job of writing a Lovecraftian story in the Realms setting. The ending makes it so rewarding.
"Red Ambition" by Jean Rabe is a good tale of some Red Wizards of Thay. The typical backstabbing and underhanded reversals of this treacherous group are all highlighted. However, though they are skilled at deception, are they the best? Rabe gives a good accounting for those who might think otherwise.
"The Greatest Hero Who Ever Died" by J. Robert King is another winner. Telling of a scheming and murderous plot that brought low a well-respected knight, King draws in the reader with a god plot and good characters. The tale takes place in a lonely tavern on a cold winter's night, told by a traveler. The tale takes place in the not-too-distant past, with something of a twist before all is done. Another great ending.
"Six of Swords" by Connors and "The Common Spell" by Novak-Grubb are pretty worthwhile reads. Both rely on slight twists to resolve things. "Blood Sport" by Golden is a good read, telling another part of the life if the elven vampire Jander Sunstar. The other stories in the book are pretty pedestrian, but not terrible to read.The Best of the Realms (Forgotten Realms Anthology) OverviewThe best stories, the best authors, together in one volume for the first time!This anthology presents your favorite stories from a decade of Forgotten Realms anthologies--every one of them chosen by you. In addition, this anthology contains a brand new story by R. A. Salvatore.Contents"Rite of Blood" by Elaine Cunningham"Elminster at the Magefair" by Ed Greenwood"Darksword" by Troy Denning"Blood Sport" by Christie Golden"Six of Swords" by WIlliam W. Connors"The Rose Window" by Monte Cook"The First Moonwell" by Douglas Niles"The Greatest Hero Who Ever Died" by J. Robert King"Tertius and the Artifact" by Jeff Grubb"Red Ambition" by Jean Rabe"The Common Spell" by Kate Novak-Grubb"Assassin's Shadow" by Jess Lebow"And the Dark Tide Rises" by Keith Francis Strohm"Empty Joys" by R.A. Salvatore

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The Wizards Conclave: The Age of Mortals Review

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The Wizards Conclave: The Age of Mortals ReviewReally, I'd give negative stars if it was possible. Before I get going, I'd like to point out that I've always liked Douglas Niles's DL works, The Last Thane aside. In particular, I'd recommend Fistandantilus Reborn, The Kinslayer Wars, and Emperor of Ansalon as excellent examples of how good a writer her can be in this setting...even if each has slight flaws, they don't add up enough to detract from the book.
In Wizard's Conclave, it seems like all there are, are flaws. As far as the issue of Dalamar the Dark's hair color, he WAS killed and resurrected. The shock of that COULD have bleached his hair - it happens in real life sometimes when people experience a severe trauma. That was the least of it in my mind.
For starters, the heroine (Coryn) was far too naive and STUPID throughout the book. The idea that a kender could just show up (in Icereach, of all places, without being a god, as in The Icewall Trilogy) at Scharon's door and guide a 15-year old girl to Palanthas WITHOUT INCIDENT is ludicrous. Plain and simple. Any ship they took would have had to pass close enough to the Gale off the coast of Southern Ergoth to experience negative weather patterns from its fallout, yet we hear nothing of a storm-tossed ship or anything. Just smooth sailing!
Secondly, the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth has a whole big piece of source material on it (Raistlin's Legacy: The Tower of High Sorcery) that was readily available to Mr. Niles that he apparently didn't look at once. Wayreth Forest is just that, a forest. No caves, no mountains, NO SECRET TUNNELS! It is guarded by a COPPER dragon, not some massive green holdover from the Third Dragon War. It is also a structure that CANNOT be harmed. Raistlin, in Test of the Twins, was a god in an alternate future and even his DIVINE power couldn't harm it, never mind some wild magic.
The villain was, in a word, boring. The writing was kiddie (he should have named Coryn Harriet Potter and just have been done with it) and there were so many problems that they got in the way of telling a good story. Not the least of which is the idea that every wizard had the "fly" spell memorized for every day use or that they suddenly had a full compliment of spells after years of having no access to them. Oh, and lest I forget, they made good time from all corners of the continent, all arriving at the SAME EXACT TIME the day AFTER the Night of the Eye. I wasn't aware Ansalon had Leer jets.
The Master of the Tower has his own form, but it was not once used, and is more powerful than just about any wizard because he IS the Tower. Why he didn't lock the villain and his toadying sidekick in a room and allow them to suffocate is beyond me. The Tower's physical layout was incorrectly described, or should I say incompletely described. No mention was made of where the fence went from the foretower.
And for all of Coryn's unbelievable (literally) powers, she HAD to use her little copycat spell on that arrow to win? What about, oh, I dunno, casting a haste spell on the arrow so it would get there before Kalwhatshisname had time to turn around?
Was there anything about this book I liked? Yes, actually. I liked that Jenna became the Head of the Conclave, even if she's far too old to have withstood the punishment she took. She was no spring chicken in Dragons of Summer Flame as it was, yet here she is 40+ years later and still running around like she was in the prime of her life. Even Elminster would have a problem bouncing back from the kind of injuries she sustained!
The best part, though, was the scene with Palin and Dalamar. I felt that it was an excellent closing of the book on the Majere family (Linsha aside) and their involvement with the future of Krynn. Palin sacrificed magic at the end of the War of Souls trilogy and in this book - released shortly after Prisoner of Haven and, thus, a great piece of loose-end-tying - we see him happy for the first time in years. A family that rose from peaceful common stock returns to peaceful common stock...a great way to bring their saga full circle.
In short, though, Mr. Niles took far too many liberties with the story, not the least of which was betraying the tone of DL with a kiddie fantasy story, dialogue sequences, and pace. As I said, though, I like Doug Niles's DL stuff, by and large, and will just be forced to file this in the Miss category for him...which is still far outnumberd by his Hits. I really hope that he phoned this in due to personal feelings towards the story idea and the supposed story arc that is supposed to come with it. Coryn is rumored to feature prominently in his upcoming trilogy...I can only hope he doesn't continue the trend established in this book, but rather takes the story seriously and attempts to make the read not only fun, but worthwhile as well.The Wizards Conclave: The Age of Mortals OverviewThe latest title in a series based on characters from the best-selling War of Souls trilogy.This title is the next in a series that explores the lives of key characters from Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's New York Times best-selling War of Souls trilogy. Wizards Conclave describes events that directly overlap events during the War of Souls, and it features two lead characters familiar to any fan of the Dragonlance world. Author Douglas Niles is well-known to and popular with both recent and long-term Dragonlance novel fans.

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Realms of Valor (A Collection of Short Stories) Review

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Realms of Valor (A Collection of Short Stories) Review"Oldies, but Goodies," still hold true today. I re-dug this book out of the boxes of Forgotten Realms books and read it again for the first time. Valor isn't just a word, it's an idea. Take a spin and read this book, as you put yourself in each main character's shoes, and see if you think you might have Valor. I highly recommend this book to those who think deeply and have an open mind to different opinions in Valor.Realms of Valor (A Collection of Short Stories) OverviewFrom the secret annals of Realms history come eleven never-before-published tales of valor, featuring the greatest heroes of that magical world -- Drizzt Do'Urden, Arilyn Moonblade, Adon, Elminster of Shadowdale, Jander Sunstar, and many others -- told by your favorite authors, including:Ed Greenwood, R.A. Salvatore, Douglas Niles, Troy Denning, Christie Golden, and others

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Realms of Magic (Forgotten Realms Anthology) Review

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Realms of Magic (Forgotten Realms Anthology) ReviewGenerally I like all things in the Forgotten Realms series, but this was certainly not an overall good experience. The best stories, in my opinion, were these: Guenhwyvar (R.A. Salvatore), it was the story of the cat's creation, particularly of interest to fans of Drizzt Do'Urden - The Quiet Place (Christie Golden), this was a story of Jander Sunstar, one of my all time favorites (Vampire of the Mists and others) - The Eye of the Dragon (Ed Greenwood), a little bit of Khelben, a little bit of Elminster, but not really about either, good without over doing the popular characters - A Worm too Soft (J. Robert King), this one was different, and I liked that, and well done. The worst ones, again just my opinion: Too Familiar (David Cook), this one just didn't really go anywhere, and I wasn't terribly interested in the characters (they are repeat characters, though I haven't read them in others) - Red Ambition (Jean Rabe), this one just didn't do anything at all, not well written, dull story, I left it wondering why?
All the rest were probably 3 of 5, with the better ones earning 4 and the lesser ones earning 2 (and the story surrounding the anthology, prologue and epilogue, was not very good either). Over all, it is probably 3 stars, maybe 3.5. If you just borrow it and read the stories of your favorites, you could come out with a four or five experience.Realms of Magic (Forgotten Realms Anthology) OverviewFrom the research files of the legendary Volo come tales of all things magical in the Realms -- artifacts and auguries, wizards and weapons, heroes and hokum -- told by your favorite authors, including: R.A. Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham, Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb, David "Zeb" Cook, Roger Moore and others

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The Kagonesti (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 1) Review

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The Kagonesti (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 1) ReviewBeing a big fan of Elves myself, I never really knew much about the Kagonesti. This book descended upon me in the summer and I could not put it down. Quite possibly the best history I have read. It spans well over three generations, shows everything about the relationship with the Silver Dragons. The only thing that I can find to complain about it is the fact that it spent a bit too much time on battles with other cultures, instead of describing the society itself, which does seem a little one-sided.The Kagonesti (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 1) OverviewThe Age of LightForests cover Ansalon. Under the legendary Silvanos, the elves of Krynn begin to tame the wilds and raise their crystal cities.But as the Elderwild Kaganos jouneys toward a mystical encounter high in the mountains, he knows that, for his tribe, the woodlands must remain their eternal home.As centuries pass and Dragonwars rage, the tribe of Kaganos battles encroaching humans and the minions of the Dark Queen, aided by a potent lgacy guided by revered pathfinders . . .Until the wild elves stand upon the brink of the deadliest challenge of all -- a challenge that marks a choice between annilhilation and survival.The Lost Histories Series probes the historical roots and epic struggles of the heretofore little-known peoples of Krynn.

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Winterheim (Dragonlance: Icewall Trilogy, Vol. 3) Review

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Winterheim (Dragonlance: Icewall Trilogy, Vol. 3) ReviewWinterheim, the epic conclusion to Douglas Niles latest trilogy, maintains Niles reputation for consistently enjoyable, thorough and well-written fantasy novels. Throughout the trilogy, Niles has explored a previously untapped region of the Dragonlance world: Icereach.
This last book serves to tie together the fates of the very engaging main characters: Moreen Bayguard, Strongwind Whalebone, Bruni, and Grimwar Bane. This trilogy, and specifically this book, is refreshing from other fantasy titles in that, awe-inspiring magic and all-powerful characters are not to be found. Instead, every character is mortal with his or her own set of trials and tribulations. Every fight is a real struggle and every action comes with it's own emotional turmoil and consequences. For example, the supposed enemy of the novel, Grimwar, is torn by his own personal feelings towards the humans and his duty as the leader of the ogres, natural enemies of the humans.
The book moves along at a brisk clip; the plot nevers gets stale or bogged down, as the perspective of the narrative changes from character to character quite frequently.
The ending is relatively satisfying albeit a brief abrupt. Every character and his or her story ends in an appropriate manner. Overall, it is a peaceful conclusion to a dark and warlike age in Icereach. This book is heartily recommended to any fantasy fans.

On a side note, it would be helpful if you read the first two books in the trilogy before you read Winterheim. It is not necessary, but you would better understand the characters, setting and plot.Winterheim (Dragonlance: Icewall Trilogy, Vol. 3) OverviewShrouded in ice, the stronghold of the ogres has stood for eons as an impregnable bastion of the Icereach. But now Strongwind Whalebone, king of the Highlanders, has been imprisoned in the ogre fortress. Outside its walls, a band of his compatriots plots his rescue. Within the fortress, ogre king Grimwar Bane faces royal treachery and desperate revolt.It is time for the ogre king to decide if the greater threat lies outside Winterheim—or within.In the third book of his epic trilogy, Douglas Niles weaves a tapestry of magic and adventure into a climax that will affect the destiny of all those who dwell in the cold land of the Icereach.

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The Golden Orb (Dragonlance: The Icewall Trilogy, Book 2) Review

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The Golden Orb (Dragonlance: The Icewall Trilogy, Book 2) ReviewSet eight years after the first book in the trilogy, this is an excellent fantasy novel and part of a terrific trilogy. It answers a lot of questions from the first book and develops the familiar characters even further. Readers do not need prior exposure to the Dragonlance world to enjoy this book. And don't stop here, the final book in the trilogy (Winterheim) is excellent as well!The Golden Orb (Dragonlance: The Icewall Trilogy, Book 2) OverviewBrackenrockTowering aloof and secure, the isolated fortress offers humankind a place to survive and flourish in the barren realm of Icereach. Even the elven Messenger Kerrick Fallabrine has made a home there, living among the humans and teaching them a multitude of skills. But the ogre enemies are always near, and they have developed a powerful weapon, a destructive magic encased within a sphere of solid gold. Its existence forces the humans to confront the threat of extinction that lurks outside their walls.In the second book of this epic trilogy that began with The Messenger, Douglas Niles carries the reader into the heart of an unknown realm, where the world beneath the Icewall trembles with threats of war, slavery, and greed.

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The Messenger (Dragonlance Icewall, Vol. 1) Review

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The Messenger (Dragonlance Icewall, Vol. 1) ReviewThis is a good book, though I would not say super great. I finished it in a day, pretty rare since I've found myself getting bored of the present day's fantasy books. What this book does for me is entertain me without bogging me down with all that political intrigue that is so en vogue in fantasy books these days. I love Kerrick, the 'disgraced' elf. I suppose since I like fallen heroes, my opinion is biased - but seriously, if you want a simple and entertaining read, this is it!
The story does begin a tad slowly in the beggining, but it picks up speed towards the end. The background of the Arkos people are intriguing enough for you to wonder what's going to happen to them after they found the citadel. I found myself caring for the Highland King and Chiefwoman (can't remember her name), and I hope to see both of them more in the next book. As for Kerrick, I really can't wait till he finds out more about the fate of his parents.
Unfortunately, the editing could use some work. I mean, I'm usually not one to notice such things (since I tend to read too quickly to note anything of detail such as spelling), but I did notice and that says a lot. But don't let this bug ya, it's a good story, albeit simplistic. Can't wait for the second!The Messenger (Dragonlance Icewall, Vol. 1) OverviewThe IcewallCold, forbidding, remote, it stands like a dim white cloud on the very edge of sight. There Kerrick, an elf from the golden woods of Silvanesti, has been sent, an exile in disgrace. There too, a band of barbarian villagers make their stand against the remnants of an ogre empire that is determined to once again rule the frozen wastes.In the first book of this thrilling trilogy, Douglas Niles takes his readers to a land that most in Krynn have heard of only in legen -- the legend of the Icewall.

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