| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| MerrikCale |
Posted - 15 May 2008 : 16:02:44
Cosnidering that most of us here have no interest in 4e realms, I wonder if you will still read the novels set in that timeframe. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The Sage |
Posted - 28 Aug 2010 : 02:04:47
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
Aww, Matt and RW, you guys are so sweet. 
quote:
Originally posted by jornan
Hell, even a "Realms of the Spellplague" where we watch all our favorite characters die would be better than just no knowing.
We all know I love this idea, but I just wanted to reiterate it. 
Realms of Plague?
Realms of Chaos?
Realms of Doom?
Etc.?
Cheers
Realms of "Twilight"......maybe filled with those infamous chapbooks eh Erik?
This has got my vote! 
"Realms of Chaos" really doesn't work for me, because it carries meanings similar to the old WARHAMMER Realms of Chaos supplements. And "Realms of Doom" generates mental imagery of a short story anthology featuring one of my Marvel favourites... Doctor Doom!  [Which would be so cool, BTW]. |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 28 Aug 2010 : 01:08:08
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
Aww, Matt and RW, you guys are so sweet.
quote:
Originally posted by jornan
Hell, even a "Realms of the Spellplague" where we watch all our favorite characters die would be better than just no knowing.
We all know I love this idea, but I just wanted to reiterate it.
Realms of Plague?
Realms of Chaos?
Realms of Doom?
Etc.?
Cheers
Realms of "Twilight"......maybe filled with those infamous chapbooks eh Erik?
On a serious note I would love to se novels detailing what the" Cult of Mystra" has been up to since the spell plague. And what the surviving Flaming Braziers are up to. |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 27 Aug 2010 : 15:27:12
Aww, Matt and RW, you guys are so sweet.
quote:
Originally posted by jornan
Hell, even a "Realms of the Spellplague" where we watch all our favorite characters die would be better than just no knowing.
We all know I love this idea, but I just wanted to reiterate it.
Realms of Plague?
Realms of Chaos?
Realms of Doom?
Etc.?
Cheers |
| Dennis |
Posted - 27 Aug 2010 : 07:19:57
I am sort of an edition neutral, so I care not what ed is the novel set. As of the novels in the current edition, I enjoyed reading quite a number of them. I really think it all depends on the authors we prefer and the things we specifically look for in a good book.
|
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 27 Aug 2010 : 03:36:56
quote:
Originally posted by Matt James
I think if people just come to accept that a company is out to make profits, the whole issue seems moot. Did WotC create the Spellplague to shake-up the content of the setting as a means to spur more profit? Not yes... but HELL yes :) Okay, now that the topic of profits is over with, you can begin to sort more facts.
1) Erik Scott De Bie is one of the best up-and-coming authors for the Forgotten Realms. Nothing in his novels has been so offensive to my FR sensibilities that I could possibly stop supporting his work or the Realms. This guy needs to be putting out trilogies. The Realms are alive through his novels-- I dare anyone to say otherwise. He brings a great feel to the post-Spellplague Realms in the same way that I love Paul Kemp's novels.
2) The rest I deleted. ;)
Could not agree more with #1!
And that applies to most other authors as a well. The one who does not do it for me, who's novels feel out of phase with every other FR novel I have ever read....I don't buy them.....but I'm not going to let them run me away from the good stuff going on.
I think that's something some are forgetting. You don't have to like everything about 4e .....heck you don't even have to like most of it to find things to enjoy! |
| jornan |
Posted - 26 Aug 2010 : 21:02:47
I was skeptical about the change too and hate the fact that many familiar places and faces have changed so dramatically. But the more 4th ed. novels I read the more pleased I am with both the content of the books and the caliber of the writing. The tansition books from 3rd to 4th were also superb.
When I consider the transition books (Lady Penitent, Last Mythal, Empyrean Odyssey, Transitions, Twilight War), coupled with the 4th ed. novels (Ed Presents: Waterdeep, Blades of the Moonsea, Brotherhood of the Griffon, Chosen of Nendawen, New EC, New PAul Kemp, New Slavatore) all of these books are far superior to much of the last couple of years of 3rd edition (Wizards, rogues, Fighters, Citadels, Dungeons, etc) although there were some gems in there.
It was also nice to finally get a "realms shaking event" that actually shook the realms up a little. Most of the other ones didn't really have many after affects and as such things stayed pretty static.
I just wish wizards would retroactively use some novels to make the transition more seemless for the longtime fans. Hell, even a "Realms of the Spellplague" where we watch all our favorite characters die would be better than just no knowing.
So far I'm pleased. I would like to make one note however and that is that WOTC tried to pass the spellplague off as a means to make the realms more accessable, but all they did was create a greater gap in lore and a greater amount of filler space for authors who are true to the realms to explain WTF happened. IT almost made it more complicated. |
| Matt James |
Posted - 26 Aug 2010 : 20:28:49
I think if people just come to accept that a company is out to make profits, the whole issue seems moot. Did WotC create the Spellplague to shake-up the content of the setting as a means to spur more profit? Not yes... but HELL yes :) Okay, now that the topic of profits is over with, you can begin to sort more facts.
1) Erik Scott De Bie is one of the best up-and-coming authors for the Forgotten Realms. Nothing in his novels has been so offensive to my FR sensibilities that I could possibly stop supporting his work or the Realms. This guy needs to be putting out trilogies. The Realms are alive through his novels-- I dare anyone to say otherwise. He brings a great feel to the post-Spellplague Realms in the same way that I love Paul Kemp's novels.
2) The rest I deleted. ;)
|
| Wolf_22 |
Posted - 26 Aug 2010 : 05:45:17
Shattered Realms? Hardly...
To be that, it would have to be relative to the Forgotten Realms as Shattered Realms denotes a similarity, regardless of however different it may be. So I guess what I'm saying here is that the changes our beloved company have instituted go far beyond any sense of rationality or storyline requirements. No, instead, for me at least, I hold true to the simple fact that the company known as the Wizards of the Coast pursue cash and cash alone for they did this (these catastrophic changes) in order to bring in more money.
On one side of the spectrum, I can't say I blame them with the wonderful economy in the shape that it's in. On the other hand, however, I will never forgive them for what they've done. They've taken a quality product complete with an amazing tiered approach of multifaceted characters and settings and completely screwed it all up. Some of you, as always is the case, will agree that what they've done is great... Super... FANTASTIC!
I, however, think they've blown it all up to such extents that it makes me want nothing more with any of their products. I'm struggling to keep reading the novels due to this stupid ass Spellplague crap. They've made the Gods mainstream (which was one massive boo-boo on their part [IMO, of course]) but worst of all was this 4th Edition crap. 1st edition, 2nd, 3rd... Then what was it--3.5!? Are we now modeling our books after computer software? What a joke... And I think it was what, a year, after 3rd that they began talks about a friggin' 4th!? THIS WAS NONSENSE! IS NONSENSE!
Like all other grand things in the world, this, too, shall nosedive.
Sorry people... I Googled some stuff about hating what 4th Ed. has done to the likes of Drizzt and his Companions and stumbled across this forum. After reading a few of the replies, I had to register and comment. I don't mean to offend anyone on here but I really do detest what they've done to everything... I fear that it's the beginning of the end of FR and all because some ridiculous corporate munchers can't leave things alone. Again, my apologies for my passion--I've been up awhile doing homework and I'm a little tight at the moment. LOL. |
| Stout Heart |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 03:31:20
Understand able and it wasnt my goal to pass it off as fact. What I said was " Here is the view someone else gave to me on the topic." |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 03:05:16
quote:
Originally posted by Fillow
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Ed doesn't 'work' for Wizards any more than Tom Clancy works for the CIA.
I know this is not the main point of your debate but if we have a look at your arguments, I'm not sure you both are on the same register.
Saying that Ed works for WotC is equivalent to saying that Tom Clancy works for Berkley, the editor of his stories. And I think that the latter does work for Berkley ! More than Ed does to the benefit of Wizards.
On the contrary, saying that Clancy works for the CIA would be equivalent to saying that Ed works for the Harpers or the Zhentarim.
But this is not the heart of your discussion and most of all we all are out-of-topic...
True, I was trying to just illustrate the point that he writes for the Realms, but is not on the regular payroll.
As for the Wikipedia entry, it's has no source itself as to where the comments are from. |
| Stout Heart |
Posted - 07 Sep 2008 : 22:37:33
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Can you provide a source for this Stout Heart? Ed doesn't 'work' for Wizards any more than Tom Clancy works for the CIA. And I haven't heard any disparaging comments from Ed on the subject.
Sorry if this comes off a bit harsh, but it sounds 'snopes.com' worthy type of chatter.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Your_thoughts_on_4e_Forgotten_Realms%3F |
| Fillow |
Posted - 07 Sep 2008 : 18:08:19
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Ed doesn't 'work' for Wizards any more than Tom Clancy works for the CIA.
I know this is not the main point of your debate but if we have a look at your arguments, I'm not sure you both are on the same register.
Saying that Ed works for WotC is equivalent to saying that Tom Clancy works for Berkley, the editor of his stories. And I think that the latter does work for Berkley ! More than Ed does to the benefit of Wizards.
On the contrary, saying that Clancy works for the CIA would be equivalent to saying that Ed works for the Harpers or the Zhentarim.
But this is not the heart of your discussion and most of all we all are out-of-topic... |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 07 Sep 2008 : 17:39:51
Can you provide a source for this Stout Heart? Ed doesn't 'work' for Wizards any more than Tom Clancy works for the CIA. And I haven't heard any disparaging comments from Ed on the subject.
Sorry if this comes off a bit harsh, but it sounds 'snopes.com' worthy type of chatter. |
| Stout Heart |
Posted - 07 Sep 2008 : 16:21:24
Here is the view someone else gave to me on the topic. quote:
I've been reading Ed Greenwood's comments on 4e FR and he is understandably upset at the move WotC has made for the realms. The way it's going, he fears that people will simply just not buy the new FR sourcebooks (he believes that most will turn out to be 'new Realms only') and since they'll fail to make a profit as a result, Wizards will just discontinue the line. It is this belief that spurs Ed onwards to support the Realms and try and move it as much as he can in a direction he knows that us fans would prefer, rather than quit over what Wizards have done.
Also as long as some of my favorite writes keep writing then I'm gonna keep buying there books. Lisa S, Paul K, Troy D, Richard B, Elaine C you get the point. |
| WhrenKehrsyn |
Posted - 05 Sep 2008 : 19:23:24
I got Blackstaff Tower and will start reading it tonight. I found it was alot harder to say I could walk away from the Realms than to actually do it, and Mr. de Bies assurances that buying a novel wasnt voting yes to the 4e Realms helped sway me (Im trusting you on that lol). I really enjoyed Blackstaff so Im sure I will enjoy this one as well. |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 05 Sep 2008 : 17:21:25
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by J D Dunsany
The key for me will really be to what extent the 4e stuff feels like the Realms I've fallen in love with. And that's an unknowable, really. I guess what I tried to say in the previous post is that I've gone from being somewhat disapproving to being more open-minded, if that makes any sense.
Sure--it totally does.
You will like what you will like . . . none of us can (or want to) change that.
I might insert a little opinion based on my reading of Blackstaff Tower, however . . . it's definitely the Realms. (At least for me!) I think you'll really like it, if you haven't read it already.
That goes for all Realms readers and fans--I can't recommend Blackstaff Tower highly enough.
Recommended!
Thanks very much, Erik. Other authors' opinions are always welcomed, no matter what the opinion.
Steven
who can't wait to read Erik's Downshadow.... |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 05 Sep 2008 : 16:14:54
quote:
Originally posted by J D Dunsany
The key for me will really be to what extent the 4e stuff feels like the Realms I've fallen in love with. And that's an unknowable, really. I guess what I tried to say in the previous post is that I've gone from being somewhat disapproving to being more open-minded, if that makes any sense.
Sure--it totally does.
You will like what you will like . . . none of us can (or want to) change that.
I might insert a little opinion based on my reading of Blackstaff Tower, however . . . it's definitely the Realms. (At least for me!) I think you'll really like it, if you haven't read it already.
That goes for all Realms readers and fans--I can't recommend Blackstaff Tower highly enough.
Recommended!
And Mistshore . . . I just haven't got the chance to read Mistshore yet. I'm quite optimistic, though!
Cheers |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 05 Sep 2008 : 05:57:01
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
(including cameos for two of Wooly's favorite characters ever)
I can't wait to read it! I'd've started it already, but I've not had any time to work on reading Evermeet this week... I'm not even halfway thru it yet!
|
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 21:49:59
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by J D Dunsany
with writers of the calibre of Erik and Steven involved, I probably will end up getting the 4e novels.
Wow--that is quite the compliment. (You hear that, Steve?! :))
Thank you, sir!
Yes indeed--thank you sir.
quote:
quote:
Whether I like what they've done to the setting remains to be seen, though...
Only honored it as it deserves to be honored, I hope.
But seriously--it's a good thing you've been reading a lot of FR fiction, at least in prep for Downshadow. I intended it to have appeal to long-time readers and newbies alike (with favoritism toward the Realms-sage side).
Cheers
We can only hope that you get out of reading it what we put into it--a great respect and love for the setting/world and the characters through which we're telling the story. I've been working with the Realms since 1990 and the only motivation more powerful than making as good a Realms product as possible is the motivation to write as good a story as possible for the reader. Luckily, those aren't two mutually exclusive propositions for me as a novelist.
I wrote Blackstaff Tower to be as useful and solid a story to older FR fans as for those totallly new fans coming to the setting. There's quite a number of nods to the past continuity (including cameos for two of Wooly's favorite characters ever) as well as adjustments for the new timeframe. Still, if you're a fan of Waterdeep, I think I've crafted a tidy little story that'll appeal to old and new fans of the City. I look forward to hearing what you think both of the books and of Waterdeep as it's represented in all of those novels.
Steven
|
| J D Dunsany |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 21:48:26
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by J D Dunsany
with writers of the calibre of Erik and Steven involved, I probably will end up getting the 4e novels.
Wow--that is quite the compliment. (You hear that, Steve?! :))
Thank you, sir!
Well, I haven't read 'Depths of Madness' yet, but my approval of both 'Ghostwalker' and your short in 'Realms of the Elves' has already been articulated elsewhere. Provided you continue to craft pleasingly layered plots and create memorable (invariably twisted/tormented - and believably so) characters, I'll continue to be interested in your work. And I'm honestly not being sycophantic there...
quote:
quote:
Whether I like what they've done to the setting remains to be seen, though...
Only honored it as it deserves to be honored, I hope.
The honesty and integrity of you and your fellow writers is not (and, I don't think never has been) in question here - just the overall marketing decisions that have meant that much of what I and many others liked about the Realms have been disposed of. That said, I'm perfectly willing to accept that what you and other writers are preparing to offer us will be exciting and rich in its own way. The key for me will really be to what extent the 4e stuff feels like the Realms I've fallen in love with. And that's an unknowable, really. I guess what I tried to say in the previous post is that I've gone from being somewhat disapproving to being more open-minded, if that makes any sense.
quote:
But seriously--it's a good thing you've been reading a lot of FR fiction, at least in prep for Downshadow. I intended it to have appeal to long-time readers and newbies alike (with favoritism toward the Realms-sage side).
Cheers
[/quote]
Thanks for the reply, Erik. I'll look forward to reading it in good time. (But I'll be reading Depths of Madness first... )
Regards,
JDD |
| Fillow |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 21:00:21
quote:
Originally posted by Christopher_Rowe
Has anybody done any more work on this? It would be cool to have a nicely formatted-all-in-one-place list of all the books and stories we know span the transition, and then those that come after. I'm thinking of of a limited version of something like the book timeline list at the Forgotten Realms Library page, which hasn't been updated yet.
I'd give it a shot, but I've got a ton of catching up to do and am not familiar with a lot of the recent stuff. Heck, I just started Shadow's Witness last night and finally know who this Erevis Cale cat everybody raves about is!
Have a look here : http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11510 and tell me what you'd like to read in it! |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 20:42:33
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
I do understand why the replaced Skullport with Mistshore/Downshadow, that the same reasoning that having Underdark more easily accessible, but those two novels will have to be damn good to make me forget my favorite location of the Realms
It hasn't been my impression that either Mistshore (which is up in the harbor) or Downshadow (which is the first level of Undermountain) is supposed to be a *replacement* for Skullport. They aren't organized nearly the same way--economically, geographically, socially, etc. But who am I to know the designers' intentions?
(And I do hope you find those novels damn good. )
Cheers
I can understand why some might think they are a replacement since Skullport is unihabited according to the 4e FRCG. It seems like There needs to be something to fill the void. |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 19:34:43
quote:
Originally posted by J D Dunsany
with writers of the calibre of Erik and Steven involved, I probably will end up getting the 4e novels.
Wow--that is quite the compliment. (You hear that, Steve?! :))
Thank you, sir!
quote:
Whether I like what they've done to the setting remains to be seen, though...
Only honored it as it deserves to be honored, I hope.
But seriously--it's a good thing you've been reading a lot of FR fiction, at least in prep for Downshadow. I intended it to have appeal to long-time readers and newbies alike (with favoritism toward the Realms-sage side).
Cheers |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 18:29:57
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
On the flipside, I thought Faces of Deception (another that is popular with a number of scribes) was absolutely pointless, and I hated how, in the RotA trilogy, the only good guys that could do something right were the ones intro'ed in that trilogy.
I actually disliked Faces of Deception as well, but I do not attribute it to the writing, but to the purpose of the whole Lost Empires series. It seemed like to point of each and every one was to bring the characters close to retrieving the lost bit of history and then take it away again. I found this depressing. |
| Christopher_Rowe |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 17:08:43
quote:
Originally posted by Fillow
So, fellow scribes,
Please, what are all the novels dealing with 1385 and following years ?
- Undead
- The More Things Change... (Realsm of Infamy II)
- Empyrean Odyssey trilogy ?
- ...
And those which deal with 1400+ years ?
- Swordmage
- Blackstaff tower
- Downshadow
- ...
Has anybody done any more work on this? It would be cool to have a nicely formatted-all-in-one-place list of all the books and stories we know span the transition, and then those that come after. I'm thinking of of a limited version of something like the book timeline list at the Forgotten Realms Library page, which hasn't been updated yet.
I'd give it a shot, but I've got a ton of catching up to do and am not familiar with a lot of the recent stuff. Heck, I just started Shadow's Witness last night and finally know who this Erevis Cale cat everybody raves about is! |
| J D Dunsany |
Posted - 04 Sep 2008 : 16:26:17
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
On the flipside, I thought Faces of Deception (another that is popular with a number of scribes) was absolutely pointless.
But that's the point.
No, really. I'm not just being deliberately obtuse in some ironically post-modern 'clever' way. That really was, I think, the point of Faces of Deception. In a novel whose principal character is obsessed with finding a paradise that will restore his physical 'beauty', that ending, jarring though it undoubtedly is, is absolutely appropriate. I think it's quite a brave piece of writing personally - and it's not half-bad in terms of its general 'readability' either.
But, I've gone way off-topic, haven't I?
(And in reply to a moderator's post, too...)
Apologies.
JDD
PS: (And this is the sound of an own trumpet being blown) - if you want a more detailed consideration of Faces of Deception, I've got a review up on this site. And you get to find out my real name, too. Woo-hoo!
PPS: Somewhat contradicting my earlier post in this thread, it looks like I probably will end up buying 4e novels, but (probably) not 4e background material. I've had a break from FR fiction over the last few months (reading a lot of Doctor Who, Warhammer 40K and, believe it or not, some Dostoyevsky), but I'm returning to it now and, with writers of the calibre of Erik and Steven involved, I probably will end up getting the 4e novels. Whether I like what they've done to the setting remains to be seen, though... |
| Skeptic |
Posted - 24 Aug 2008 : 03:34:28
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
It hasn't been my impression that either Mistshore (which is up in the harbor) or Downshadow (which is the first level of Undermountain) is supposed to be a *replacement* for Skullport. They aren't organized nearly the same way--economically, geographically, socially, etc. But who am I to know the designers' intentions?
I assume that the designers wanted to have some "dark areas" more accessible and less alien than Skullport was.
In the same way that the Underdark is less remote in the 4E Realms.
I don't have much problems with the Waterdeep changes, but I was sad to see that they didn't follow up on the return of the Shadow thieves that Eric L. Boyd confirmed in 3E CoS. |
| Snotlord |
Posted - 23 Aug 2008 : 23:47:32
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Actually, one of my biggest complaints about that series (other than the fact that all the established good guys were idiots) was that it didn't explain any of the 3E changes.
Off-topic alert:
I've always had problems with that take on edition changes. I think the perceived need explain mechanic changes inside the setting is what brought us the spellplague. |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 23 Aug 2008 : 21:20:18
quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
I do understand why the replaced Skullport with Mistshore/Downshadow, that the same reasoning that having Underdark more easily accessible, but those two novels will have to be damn good to make me forget my favorite location of the Realms
It hasn't been my impression that either Mistshore (which is up in the harbor) or Downshadow (which is the first level of Undermountain) is supposed to be a *replacement* for Skullport. They aren't organized nearly the same way--economically, geographically, socially, etc. But who am I to know the designers' intentions?
(And I do hope you find those novels damn good. )
Cheers |
| Fillow |
Posted - 23 Aug 2008 : 10:47:05
Thanks to RodOdom for coming back to the topic !
So, what about the upcoming or released post 1385DR and 4E novels please ? |
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