| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 22 Aug 2012 : 16:30:36
So now we know that the six novels are due to be released starting Aug 13 with Bob Salvatore's The Companions, with a two month interval between each subsiquent release. The series wraps up rough July 2014.
This brings two questions to my mind.
1. Are these the only Realms novels that will be released during this 12 month period? I would assume so, but if not?
2. What comes after? I will be very interested to see which author gets the slot following Ed's The Herald. It's a brave new world, I just wonder who will get to take the first steps. There are many directions to take. Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate? Big, well known places to draw the eye and easy to have characters doing things that dont have a RSE anywhere in sight.
Or, and this is my hope, do we get to see an author unemcumbered...allowed to take the road less traveled and take us somewhere we've always wanted to go, but with our busy schedules planned around the latest upheaval...never had the time or chance to go? I'm sure you all have ideas....I sure do.
With two full years until The Sundering concludes(the nvels that is ), it seems like an eternity to plan and prepare for this small journey. But if you think about it....one day very, very soon. One of our beloved scribes is going to have to start planning and packing for this journey. I just can not help being just a bit jealous of how that will feel for them. Pressure, sure...loads of it, a full packs worth. Also though, freedom. Enough of that to make the other burdens fall away(at least until that first deadline looms large)
Where will this scribe take us? I do not know.
I am just sure that I want to go. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 07 Sep 2012 : 15:23:38
quote:
Originally posted by Tanthalas
@The Red Walker
I believe he has another book that will conclude the Neverwinter saga that will be released before the Sundering novel.
oh yeah, The Last Threshold...March 2013
Then The Companions in the Sundering series summer 2013. |
| Tanthalas |
Posted - 07 Sep 2012 : 15:11:36
@The Red Walker
I believe he has another book that will conclude the Neverwinter saga that will be released before the Sundering novel. |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 07 Sep 2012 : 11:59:08
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
Well RAS does have a contract for 6 books. It was signed either during or after Guantylgrym. He's completed 2. And the 2 coming(4th in Neverwinter series and first in The Sundering) that leaves 2 more.
Really? I thought Charon's Claw was the last in the Neverwinter trilogy. I seem to remember it saying that on the cover. There's a fourth one coming?
Bobs writing the first book of the six Sundering novels |
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 07 Sep 2012 : 06:53:50
Personally, I'm wary about what I've heard about the Sundering, though if it mends the effects of the Spellplague and brings back the dead gods, I'm happy. I've brought up the gods in almost every post I've made, mainly because the threads I've visited the most have to do with the Sundering. I'm new here, having only joined this month, but as I understand it, this is a place to post your opinions and ideas/thoughts, so this is what I'm doing. The gods have always been part of what "makes the Realms for me", which WotC has expressed a desire to know. I know some people feel otherwise, and like the idea of the gods taking a back seat, but I actually liked them having a more active role in FR. And if some/all of the dead gods are returning only to have them take a back seat sounds...contradictory to me. I'm sure those who have read my posts are getting tired of me bringing this up, but they are my thoughts and concerns for the ever-changing Realms, and I will state them as long as I feel they are relevant to the topic. De Bie is likely getting tired of trying to explain it¡Xthough he has not commented on my posts, but there are others who have brought up similar concerns which he has responded to¡Xand I know he¡¦s doing his best to explain it, but I am getting mixed messages (I watched some of the youtbue videos from GenCon), though I think that is in part due to the fact WotC hasn¡¦t fully sorted out events either.
I¡¦m okay with the gods not competing so much, and their portfolios being set in place could work out for the better (no more trying to steal each other¡¦s portfolios), but I still want them involved in mortal lives. Maybe I am reading into it all wrong, and that is the plan. Again, mixed messages.
Wow, this is getting long. If readers have made it this far, thank you. I am trying to catch up in the Realms, having missed out on some of the older books (or more recent ones that I just didn¡¦t know about), but it¡¦s hard doing so in light of that I don¡¦t know what will happen in the Sundering, or even pre-Sundering novels in which I know an event ends in tragedy. It¡¦s hard for me to read novels about a certain setting/event prior to that tragedy. The same would be true if there were novels about ¡§ancient¡¨ events. However, I¡¦ll admit I wouldn¡¦t mind seeing books on the Crown Wars. I love books concerning elves ƒº Or even a book on the elven god Sheverash when he was a mortal. Heck, I¡¦d like to see post-Sundering novels about his followers. Sheverash is a lesser known deity, and I¡¦d like to see at least his followers get more spotlight time. This likely isn¡¦t the last time I¡¦ll bring this up, but there you have it.
|
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 07 Sep 2012 : 06:03:23
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
Well RAS does have a contract for 6 books. It was signed either during or after Guantylgrym. He's completed 2. And the 2 coming(4th in Neverwinter series and first in The Sundering) that leaves 2 more.
Really? I thought Charon's Claw was the last in the Neverwinter trilogy. I seem to remember it saying that on the cover. There's a fourth one coming? |
| Dennis |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 04:35:14
Pointless? Hmm. Might as well ask Asmodeus about it. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 04:25:37
I, for one, have no interest in reading about the start of a pointless conflict that's dragged on for millenia. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 03:14:36
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Nah, the limited scope of flashbacks would just have the readers scream, "Write a damn prequel!"
I'm not sure how you could convincingly support such an assumption, since I've encountered plenty of readers who are satisfied with flashback scenes in place of any full prequel books.
|
| Dennis |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 02:17:24
Nah, the limited scope of flashbacks would just have the readers scream, "Write a damn prequel!" |
| The Sage |
Posted - 01 Sep 2012 : 01:56:58
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
You could do that as backstory or a flashback. You don't need to go back to before recorded history to tell a story about soemthing happening today.
No, we don't. But it would still be far more interesting if we do. Flashbacks cannot do that much, and hardly provide any meat to the story.
I disagree. Worthwhile flashback scenes are dependent upon how they are written, and what, exactly, they focus on. And, also, flashback scenes depend on where they take place in the greater narrative.
They can serve to really underline the particular historical importance of a moment if the flashback scene is perfectly timed within the context of the "current" narrative taking place. That emphasis adds far more depth to any story than those without such scenes playing out. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 23:12:36
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
You could do that as backstory or a flashback. You don't need to go back to before recorded history to tell a story about soemthing happening today.
No, we don't. But it would still be far more interesting if we do. Flashbacks cannot do that much, and hardly provide any meat to the story. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 19:21:11
No, but it would be cool if we did.
Personally, though, I'd rather see one set in the war that tore Telantiwar apart. That seems to be the real pivotal moment for the culture that the drow would later replicate, and it's hard to argue with drama that can literally bring down the roof. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 18:05:24
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Xar Zarath
If they start novels on the Blood War they are going to have to start to the beginning right until when Asmodeus hurled the Abyss to the bottom of the Elemental Chaos.
They could focus on a newly-created unit being thrown into the fighting, and eventually becoming special forces, or something like that.
Yes, they could. But I don't exactly agree. To understand how and why the war started in the first place, it would be better to see how its primary actors planned and began putting that plan into action...right from the very beginning.
You could do that as backstory or a flashback. You don't need to go back to before recorded history to tell a story about soemthing happening today.
We understand drow, but we've never had novels focused on the Crown Wars or the Descent. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 16:27:45
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Xar Zarath
If they start novels on the Blood War they are going to have to start to the beginning right until when Asmodeus hurled the Abyss to the bottom of the Elemental Chaos.
They could focus on a newly-created unit being thrown into the fighting, and eventually becoming special forces, or something like that.
Yes, they could. But I don't exactly agree. To understand how and why the war started in the first place, it would be better to see how its primary actors planned and began putting that plan into action...right from the very beginning. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 16:22:14
quote:
Originally posted by Xar Zarath
If they start novels on the Blood War they are going to have to start to the beginning right until when Asmodeus hurled the Abyss to the bottom of the Elemental Chaos.
Which is fine, since, as I understand, WotC plans to implement a multi-era approach in the novels. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 15:52:12
quote:
Originally posted by Xar Zarath
If they start novels on the Blood War they are going to have to start to the beginning right until when Asmodeus hurled the Abyss to the bottom of the Elemental Chaos.
Not necessarily. They could focus on a newly-created unit being thrown into the fighting, and eventually becoming special forces, or something like that.
The Blood War has gone on for far too long to start at the beginning, and with millenia of back and forth, any gains by one side or the other are prolly short-lived and relatively meaningless. So focusing on a small group during a short timespan would work quite well. |
| Xar Zarath |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 15:08:11
If they start novels on the Blood War they are going to have to start to the beginning right until when Asmodeus hurled the Abyss to the bottom of the Elemental Chaos.
From what i have watched, the videos about the sundering on youtube, on the dnd channel, apparently they are going to separate abeir and toril again so maybe we will see Mulhorand, Unther and possibly Maztica back? I do hope they try some way to keep the dragonborn and genasi though.
Even the tablets of fate are coming back, if you guys have seen the video apparently Ao is restoring them so maybe a new goddess and or god of magic will return? |
| Dennis |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 06:04:12
The Blood War definitely deserves its own trilogy too, if not sextet. One of the most important and reality-altering events in the history of the multiverse, yet hardly given enough focus it so deserves. Yes, we have sourcebooks dealing with some of its essential aspects, but I don't find them sufficient. |
| Matt James |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 02:19:00
quote:
Originally posted by PaulBestwick
I would second the request for a Realms Dwarf Sourcebook and for someone to give Dwarves the same treatment in a novel or three that Elaine gave to Elves
 
*whistles* |
| The Sage |
Posted - 31 Aug 2012 : 01:48:02
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by PaulBestwick
I would second the request for a Realms Dwarf Sourcebook and for someone to give Dwarves the same treatment in a novel or three that Elaine gave to Elves
Or at the very least, some short stories. 
Seriously, though, I'd love to see more on the dwarves, beyond the taste we got with Dwarves Deep. Dwarves are one of my fave races. 
Dwarves and gnomes. They're among my favourite D&D races -- and I think the Realms could really benefit from an anthology that focuses on these races, just like the DRAGONLANCE Saga did with Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 30 Aug 2012 : 16:42:09
quote:
Originally posted by PaulBestwick
I would second the request for a Realms Dwarf Sourcebook and for someone to give Dwarves the same treatment in a novel or three that Elaine gave to Elves
Or at the very least, some short stories.
Seriously, though, I'd love to see more on the dwarves, beyond the taste we got with Dwarves Deep. Dwarves are one of my fave races. |
| Tyrant |
Posted - 30 Aug 2012 : 15:50:41
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by Tanthalas
[quote]As for novels in past timelines, I thought that has always been an option for authors?
It has, but I'm hoping that moving forward, with WotC's emphasis on small-scale, personal stories (no less exciting than the big RSE stories, but with less major modification of the setting), it'll encourage more stories from across the grand history of the Realms.
Cheers
Perhaps an option that would please those who want stories set in the past (such as myself) and those who want the RSE type stories while maintaining the new focus on character is to set stories during past RSEs that have received little coverage in the novels. That way you get the stories about the past, the big moving and shaking (that doesn't impact the "current" point, barring something having an impact way in the future like an artifact being "lost" in a past setting story suddenly being found in the "current" time) that people want from the RSEs, and personal level stories about either the people that did the moving and shaking or those who lived through them (or maybe didn't survive until the end).
I think this would work for something like the Crown Wars, or the fall of Netheril, or the fall of Imaskar (or how about an entire series called "the fall" focusing on the many fallen civilizations in FR history), or maybe even the Manshoon Wars. It could also help to fill in the 100 year gap. |
| PaulBestwick |
Posted - 30 Aug 2012 : 14:20:32
I would second the request for a Realms Dwarf Sourcebook and for someone to give Dwarves the same treatment in a novel or three that Elaine gave to Elves |
| Aulduron |
Posted - 30 Aug 2012 : 09:07:44
I'd love books about the Crown Wars, or ancient Dwarven clans. |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 29 Aug 2012 : 20:13:49
quote:
Originally posted by Tanthalas
@Erik Scott de Bie
Yeah, I was getting ahead of myself. As long as the current timeline continues I don't have any problem the The Sundering event.
That's the current plan.
quote:
As for novels in past timelines, I thought that has always been an option for authors?
It has, but I'm hoping that moving forward, with WotC's emphasis on small-scale, personal stories (no less exciting than the big RSE stories, but with less major modification of the setting), it'll encourage more stories from across the grand history of the Realms.
Cheers
|
| Tanthalas |
Posted - 29 Aug 2012 : 17:45:00
@Erik Scott de Bie
Yeah, I was getting ahead of myself. As long as the current timeline continues I don't have any problem the The Sundering event.
As for novels in past timelines, I thought that has always been an option for authors? |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 29 Aug 2012 : 16:58:09
@Tanthalas: Toril and Abeir will separate again, and the current timeline will continue. There is no retcon, no reboot (unless you consider this a reboot)--all of the lore and events that happened, happened. If fans advocate for it, we will also get non-current stories (i.e. novels set in other parts of the timeline, be it pre-ToT, during the Era of Upheaval, or whenever). Game products are already moving to encompass various timelines.
@Thauranil: I don't know if it's so much a big change as a return to capture the spirit of the Realms as it has existed and evolved since the beginning.
Cheers |
| Thauranil |
Posted - 29 Aug 2012 : 13:41:03
To be perfectly honest I am not sure if the realms is ready for another big change , but as it is already underway I will try to remain sanguine about the future. Hoping for some imaginative new novels. |
| Tanthalas |
Posted - 28 Aug 2012 : 16:50:36
I'm not really sure what to expect from The Sundering event.
Will Toril go back to how it was pre-Spellplague and these past 100 years will be erased? I really wouldn't like that.
Will Toril and Abeir become separated once again, but the current timeline continues? I'd prefer this option (even though I actually like the post-Spellplague world).
Though, what's really important for me is that we continue to get good stories set in the Forgotten Realms. |
| jornan |
Posted - 23 Aug 2012 : 22:30:09
Thanks Richard. I would be very dissapointed if we have to wait too far into 2014 for a new Aoth book. |
