TSR Code:

'How do you tempt an archmage who has everything?
From a dark and dusty tomb, Elminster emerges, seeking the guidance of Mystra, and finds only silence. He is drawn into the clutches of the mysterious and sinister Lady of Shadows. The path he takes will lead to a Realms-shaking confrontation where Elminster has to make the most important choice of his long life.
Whatever he decides, the Realms will be forever changed...'

Other titles in The Elminster Series:

• Elminster: The Making of a Mage
• Elminster in Myth Drannor
• The Temptation of Elminster
• Elminster in Hell
• Elminster's Daughter
• The Annotated Elminster

See also the Elminster Ascending omnibus.

In this Third installment of the Elminster series, Elminster must seek out and become the apprentice of a mysterious female mage. Much to my shock, she turns out to be Mystra. But wait hasn't this happened before, back when the book was called Elminster The Making Of The Mage? Oh but in this one, Mystra is evil so that she can test Elminster. So the test causes the death of many people, it's okay because its Elminster. We also see more of the tired, scantly clad women ploy that Ed tries to pass off as literature.

So all you lonely people out there who enjoy, perhaps even need Greenwood's vapid display of female flesh, are probably wondering, what advantage does this books loose behavior have over that exhibited in say, Elmintewr In Hell, or Myth Drannor? Well, for those readers who enjoy unhealthy sexual fantasies, you will enjoy a scene where Elminster's new teacher is whipped upon an altar, unclothed of course, but its OK afterwords because she liked it. Sickening is the only word for it.

The second part of the book deals with evil priests who have kidnapped a part of Mystra so that they can cast wizard spells and wield their wands and such. Not a bad start. Then lets ruin any chance of a plot by allowing them to stumble in to Karsus' magical repository (for those who don't know, Karsus was a ridiculously powerful mage who tried to control Godly powers and killed himself in the process). Allow me to summarize the remainder of the book: blast blast blast, godly interferance, blast blast, crappy dialogue, the end. There is also some side plot about another adventuring party that seemed to serve no purpose. Perhaps someone out there would appreciate the comic relief, because this book is a joke.