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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Nov 2010 : 15:55:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Kilvan
Blackstaff and Spellfire
Strange. Most of us have difficult time narrowing the choices down to 3, yet you're able to come up with just 2. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2010 : 18:52:23
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Dying Earth, LotR, and Empire of the East.
I have read hundreds of 'good' books I'd recommend, but each of those opened me up to new possibilities in my mind - one could almost say they were life-changing (for me, anyway).
EDIT: Ack! Should have read the OP before responding... sorry.
Evermeet, Elminster's Daughter, and City of Splendors, because I enjoyed them the most. There may have been others I liked certain parts of better, but rarely do I read something I have NO issues with (as is the case with those three).
However, I am not the best person to judge, since I haven't read any Harper novels (aside from Red Magic), and therefore have only gotten to experience the two Elaine works mentioned above. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 13 Nov 2010 18:58:25 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2010 : 01:06:10
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
You should make the attempt, Markus. The remaining "Harper" books are worth at least one reading.
Indeed. Try at least one more book. Who knows, that one more novel would 'encourage' you to read the rest. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2010 : 02:22:45
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quote:
Originally posted by dennis
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
You should make the attempt, Markus. The remaining "Harper" books are worth at least one reading.
Indeed. Try at least one more book. Who knows, that one more novel would 'encourage' you to read the rest.
I plan to.
Just haven't had any spare cash or been to a bookstore recently. 
I'm hoping I get all Gift Certificates for the Holidays this year - that should help.
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"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2010 : 17:07:08
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This is off topic...
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was able to gather enough motivation to resume reading Elminster Must Die! Only to get further annoyed by this one word that plagues almost every page of the book: stlarn! I understand the characters' need or reflex to utter such curse, but to see it SO OFTEN is plain irritating.  |
Every beginning has an end. |
Edited by - Dennis on 14 Nov 2010 17:08:13 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 00:27:25
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quote:
Originally posted by dennis
This is off topic...
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was able to gather enough motivation to resume reading Elminster Must Die! Only to get further annoyed by this one word that plagues almost every page of the book: stlarn! I understand the characters' need or reflex to utter such curse, but to see it SO OFTEN is plain irritating.
Eh. It doesn't really bother me so much, because it seems to fit the characters motivations and personalities. As usual, Ed manages to find suitable ground for such language [and this is an unusual statement coming from me, because usually I don't care for coarse language in anything I'm reading or watching], and doesn't make it feel forced or "it's there because it's cool." |
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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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 04:04:14
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| Heh, it's like hearing your door bell/buzzer repeatedly pressed by some unwanted visitor while you're having your much deserved nap! |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Sandro
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
266 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 05:23:55
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quote:
Originally posted by dennis
This is off topic...
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was able to gather enough motivation to resume reading Elminster Must Die! Only to get further annoyed by this one word that plagues almost every page of the book: stlarn! I understand the characters' need or reflex to utter such curse, but to see it SO OFTEN is plain irritating.
I became acclimatized to it during the Knights trilogy (which I know you've not read), myself, and now it just seems to fit. It's something only Ed does (so far as I'm aware), and it's just one of those things that makes the Realms feel real, and distinct from our world, to me; just like they have different figures of speech, why not have different swear words? |
"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..." |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 05:49:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Sandro
quote:
Originally posted by dennis
This is off topic...
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was able to gather enough motivation to resume reading Elminster Must Die! Only to get further annoyed by this one word that plagues almost every page of the book: stlarn! I understand the characters' need or reflex to utter such curse, but to see it SO OFTEN is plain irritating.
I became acclimatized to it during the Knights trilogy (which I know you've not read), myself, and now it just seems to fit. It's something only Ed does (so far as I'm aware), and it's just one of those things that makes the Realms feel real, and distinct from our world, to me; just like they have different figures of speech, why not have different swear words?
Having a different expletive is fine. But to see it in virtually every page immutably shatters my tolerance level. Here I am thinking that when I resume reading this book (which is more like a miracle as I already finished two other books since I'd taken a break from reading this, ah, *magnum opus*? )I will at least discover one or two reasons to finish, only to find more things so *wonderful* to behold! |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
377 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 08:16:36
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Although i found the book quite enjoyable myself, i do not think you should feel ashamed if you did not like the book dennis. We all have different preferences. I personally have no qualms about admitting my own distaste in several FR books, even though this fora might have more biased people than others  . You're bound to bounce into people who do not share your enthusiasm, and vice versa, about novels. |
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Sandro
Learned Scribe
New Zealand
266 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 08:19:15
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quote:
Originally posted by dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Sandro
quote:
Originally posted by dennis
This is off topic...
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was able to gather enough motivation to resume reading Elminster Must Die! Only to get further annoyed by this one word that plagues almost every page of the book: stlarn! I understand the characters' need or reflex to utter such curse, but to see it SO OFTEN is plain irritating.
I became acclimatized to it during the Knights trilogy (which I know you've not read), myself, and now it just seems to fit. It's something only Ed does (so far as I'm aware), and it's just one of those things that makes the Realms feel real, and distinct from our world, to me; just like they have different figures of speech, why not have different swear words?
Having a different expletive is fine. But to see it in virtually every page immutably shatters my tolerance level. Here I am thinking that when I resume reading this book (which is more like a miracle as I already finished two other books since I'd taken a break from reading this, ah, *magnum opus*?)I will at least discover one or two reasons to finish, only to find more things so *wonderful* to behold!
Ye seem to be exaggerating the point, making, an, ahem, mountain out of a molehill, if you will, and letting that mountain get in the way of a book that truly is a very good read; everything I've heard from you seems to point at you wanting to enjoy the book, but also being unwilling to accept even the smallest "issue" with it.
Still, I suppose as one who loves both the content and characters of Ed's novels I'm more willing to overlook such issues, seeing the rest of the novel as outweighing the supposed negatives; your dislike for many of the characters probably dissuades you from wanting to read it to begin with, and other things just make the reading, already somewhat forced, that less enjoyable. Different strokes for different folks, as they say, and all that. |
"Gods, little fishes, and spells to turn the one to the other," Mordenkainen sighed. "It's started already..." |
Edited by - Sandro on 15 Nov 2010 08:24:06 |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2010 : 08:57:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Sandro
quote:
Originally posted by dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Sandro
quote:
Originally posted by dennis
This is off topic...
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was able to gather enough motivation to resume reading Elminster Must Die! Only to get further annoyed by this one word that plagues almost every page of the book: stlarn! I understand the characters' need or reflex to utter such curse, but to see it SO OFTEN is plain irritating.
I became acclimatized to it during the Knights trilogy (which I know you've not read), myself, and now it just seems to fit. It's something only Ed does (so far as I'm aware), and it's just one of those things that makes the Realms feel real, and distinct from our world, to me; just like they have different figures of speech, why not have different swear words?
Having a different expletive is fine. But to see it in virtually every page immutably shatters my tolerance level. Here I am thinking that when I resume reading this book (which is more like a miracle as I already finished two other books since I'd taken a break from reading this, ah, *magnum opus*?)I will at least discover one or two reasons to finish, only to find more things so *wonderful* to behold!
Ye seem to be exaggerating the point, making, an, ahem, mountain out of a molehill, if you will, and letting that mountain get in the way of a book that truly is a very good read; everything I've heard from you seems to point at you wanting to enjoy the book, but also being unwilling to accept even the smallest "issue" with it.
Still, I suppose as one who loves both the content and characters of Ed's novels I'm more willing to overlook such issues, seeing the rest of the novel as outweighing the supposed negatives; your dislike for many of the characters probably dissuades you from wanting to read it to begin with, and other things just make the reading, already somewhat forced, that less enjoyable. Different strokes for different folks, as they say, and all that.
How I wish it's just A molehill. The problem is 'tis numerous molehills---thousands, if I dare count them. Put them all together and you'll have a mountain bigger than Everest.
To somehow alleviate my, ah, dislike at this very disappointing (so far) book, and to finally reach page 342, I'm listing down the things I happen to like about it. Of course, I'm also noting the Why-on-earth-do-I-have-to-see-these? things. But that's another story.
Now, will I ever include this novel in my 1001 Books You Should Read Before You DIE? Hah! Far, far unlikely! |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2010 : 12:57:14
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| I'm just gonna put it out there that you have to read every single book with the FR logo on it before you die. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2010 : 02:54:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
I'm just gonna put it out there that you have to read every single book with the FR logo on it before you die.
Eh? That's too much. There are FR books that may cause my untimely death because of their sheer _______. (Better not fill it though. I know Sage will seal this thread if I do.) |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7970 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2010 : 02:58:33
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| Naw, he'd simply polymorph you into some kind of ghostly speechless "guest". |
[/Ayrik] |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2010 : 03:08:13
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| That's all right. I've got counter-spell for it. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2010 : 17:01:17
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quote:
Originally posted by dennis
That's all right. I've got counter-spell for it.
I will tie you up with duct tape and clamp your eyes open and make you read them all  mwahaha |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2010 : 17:45:03
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| Nah. That wouldn't work. A simple spell can rid of the tape. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 21 Mar 2012 : 18:13:35
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It would be kind of interesting to see if I could name a 1001 novels that I felt everyone ought to read. Not off-hand, I'm sure.
Given time, access to databases of libraries and suchlike, I suppose I could.
Would I have space for Realms-novels?
Obviously, I haven't done the math here, so I don't know how much space my unspoken mental collection of books that people 'must' read would take. I do, however, fear that out of all the wonderful books in the world, a 1001 is actually just an insignificant fraction. It seems a lot, but you'd run out pretty quickly. And it's not even just novels, it's all kinds of books, including poetry, plays, scholarly works, travelogues, biographies, religious texts, etc.
On reflection, I don't think I could guarantee any Realms-novel a place on that exalted list. Not when I'm choosing among the millions of books in existence, less than 0.1% of which can make it on there. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Entromancer
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 21 Mar 2012 : 22:27:07
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Unholy--I love this sort of story where the villain has won and the rebels must face overwhelming odds to triumph.
The Spectal Blaze--"I'm Baron Hasos!"
Shadowstorm--Its almost like Paul grinned after finished each chapter and said, "Think it can't get any worse?"
Runner-Up: Road of the Patriarch. Seemed like it was thicker on plot than the usual Salvatore novel. I loved the setting of the Bloodstone Lands and the story once it returned to Calimport. |
"...the will is everything. The will to act."--Ra's Al Ghul
"Suffering builds character."--Talia Al Ghul |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2012 : 03:40:31
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I could easily (given time) make a list of 1001 books. Most (but NOT all) of them would be novels, and relatively few of them would be WotC/TSR novels. That being said, here's my Top 3 Realms novels, in no particular order:
- Elminster in Hell - partly, I'm picking this title to be different; I agree with everybody who picked The Making of a Mage, but EiH shows a completely different side of El that reminds us that he can be both feared and beaten.
- Cormyr: A Novel
- Blackstaff... although this one may get bumped by the new Elminster novel when I get my hands on it... we'll see... honourable mention goes to Bury Elminster Deep.
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Heh. I rather suspected you'd sour on ELMINSTER MUST DIE! when you hit the Manshoon scenes, dennis.
If it makes you feel any better, all of Manshoon's vainglorious boasting and preening is due in large part to this (I'm quoting Ed here):
The Simbul is the most visibly insane character in the book (the barking, drooling, babbling of slurred nonsense), and we already know El's sanity is long gone; he's clinging to apparent normalcy by the tips of his fingernails. Yet by far the most insane character onstage is Manshoon. We won't see the depths of that until the third of the "New Elminster" books, but the hints are there for all to spot, if they're so inclined.
So saith Ed. Who also commented that "there are much larger deceptions in this book" than Manshoon's facade of sanity. We'll get hints of them in BURY ELMINSTER DEEP, but they won't "burst out" until that third book . . .
love,
THO
I'm definitely looking forward to the third book now, THO... and I've suspected for a while that Manshoon is nuttier than a fruitcake. Let's see... stasis clones everywhere and delusions of world domination... textbook paranoid megalomania, and lots of it. Elminster, on the other hand, is somewhat more subtle, but no less grand in scope. He has these delusions of a whole other universe out there, which he visits from time to time in order to chat with some guy named Ed Greenwood... |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
Edited by - Jakk on 22 Mar 2012 03:42:00 |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2012 : 10:46:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Entromancer
Unholy--I love this sort of story where the villain has won and the rebels must face overwhelming odds to triumph.
Indeed. Near the end, I thought Aoth himself would suffer the same fate the zulkirs did. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2012 : 13:24:17
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| A few Realms books that I would have on the list would include: The Crystal Shard (c'mon it's the first Drizzt book!), Homeland, and Evermeet |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2012 : 03:00:57
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Yesterday at the bookstore, I was tempted to buy Evermeet...and I almost did. But the wise (or stubborn) part of me prevailed. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Light
Learned Scribe
Australia
231 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2012 : 08:35:23
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| Well since there are 1,001 books in that list I doubt it would be that hard to fight a few FR books in. As for my choices, well I haven't read enough of them (a mistake I aim to rectify) so I won't put in my opinion. |
"A true warrior needs no sword" - Thors (Vinland Saga) |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 23 Mar 2012 : 13:02:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Yesterday at the bookstore, I was tempted to buy Evermeet...and I almost did. But the wise (or stubborn) part of me prevailed.
I would not re-read Evermeet, but it was enjoyable for me. It was fun reading about a land often mentioned in other books. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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Dennis
Great Reader
9933 Posts |
Posted - 29 Mar 2012 : 16:20:38
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quote:
Originally posted by entreri3478
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Yesterday at the bookstore, I was tempted to buy Evermeet...and I almost did. But the wise (or stubborn) part of me prevailed.
I would not re-read Evermeet, but it was enjoyable for me. It was fun reading about a land often mentioned in other books.
Considering how my reading preference changes almost as often as my mood swings, I can't say I've totally closed my door for that book.
I dislike dragons, or rather don't care much for them. Yet I read Richard's The Ruin. Same thing can happen to elf-centric books...Only time can tell. |
Every beginning has an end. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 29 Mar 2012 : 16:41:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by entreri3478
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Yesterday at the bookstore, I was tempted to buy Evermeet...and I almost did. But the wise (or stubborn) part of me prevailed.
I would not re-read Evermeet, but it was enjoyable for me. It was fun reading about a land often mentioned in other books.
Considering how my reading preference changes almost as often as my mood swings, I can't say I've totally closed my door for that book.
I dislike dragons, or rather don't care much for them. Yet I read Richard's The Ruin. Same thing can happen to elf-centric books...Only time can tell.
Did you read Rage and Rite as well? |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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1001 Books You Should Read Before You DIE
