| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Aaron Highcolor |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 04:26:52
Can anyone give me a quick synopsis, and any recommendations for/against this book (and by that, I do not mean attacks on the author)?
TIA |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 05 Mar 2013 : 18:31:26
I like the cover art for this book. |
| Seravin |
Posted - 05 Mar 2013 : 00:47:50
Sorry, I just read the book this weekend and wanted to post my thoughts on it! I didn't know if a new scroll would be appropriate or if I should just post on the existing thread discussing the book! |
| The Masked Mage |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 23:48:49
quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Your beef should be with Jeff Grubb, not Ed. Jeff plotted the novel, and wrote all the Cat and Giogi onstage scenes (being as Cat is his wife Kate, and he is Giogi).
How do I know this? I attended the GenCon seminar at which Jeff, Ed, Bill Larson, and Karen Boomgarden were all telling us tales of the writing of the book. Those who were there will remember that Jeff came in late, arm in a sling, because he'd fallen on the escalators in the MECCA center, and dislocated something, and Ed introduced him and led a round of applause.
BB
Wow - blast from the past right there. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 23:27:53
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
He posted that in 2008!
-- George Krashos
LOL! That's what I get for not paying attention. However, shame on whoever forgot to post that they had cast Resurrect Scroll.  |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 23:06:11
He posted that in 2008!
-- George Krashos
|
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 20:23:32
quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Highcolor
Well, I found a new copy of the paperback! It took me a trip to 5 bookstores in the Ft. Myers area, but I finally found one at the Borders (and I had a 30% off coupon -- WOOT!).
Why didn't I call before I left you ask? Because that would take the fun out of the search!
Of course, I KNEW Borders had a copy, but I thought there might have been a closer store. Oh well. Have to finish Tantras, but then I'm off to Cormyr (since my copy of Waterdeep hasn't arrived at the store yet!).
I thought Borders went out of business. All of the locations in northern Virginia are closed now.  |
| Seravin |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 20:20:16
Heh, thanks for that insider info Blueblade! I should have guessed Jeff would write all those scenes with Cat and Giogi, but it still irked me :) I'm going to blame Ed for it and say he had a hand in a re-write of that section. Humor me!! I bow at the feet of Jeff Grubb (and love the Forgotten Realms DC comic he wrote in the late 80s/early 90s too!) |
| Blueblade |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 19:39:43
Your beef should be with Jeff Grubb, not Ed. Jeff plotted the novel, and wrote all the Cat and Giogi onstage scenes (being as Cat is his wife Kate, and he is Giogi).
How do I know this? I attended the GenCon seminar at which Jeff, Ed, Bill Larson, and Karen Boomgarden were all telling us tales of the writing of the book. Those who were there will remember that Jeff came in late, arm in a sling, because he'd fallen on the escalators in the MECCA center, and dislocated something, and Ed introduced him and led a round of applause.
BB |
| Seravin |
Posted - 04 Mar 2013 : 16:16:56
Just read this novel on my eReader last week. I found the historical chapters to be much better reading than the modern day story of Vandergahast talking to innumerable nobles and a plot within a plot that is wrapped up neatly. Found myself skipping to the history sections until the Giogi/Cat Wyvernspur parts (Jeff's characters).
I love Ed like crazy, I thank him so much for his lore and his Realms, but darn his plots are hard to read sometimes (the Swords of ... series on the Knights of Myth Drannor for instance that started well and turned into...can't finish that opinion for respect of Ed); especially contrasted with Jeff Grubb's writing, which I find to be the best writing in the Realms (second best goes to Elaine and Bob, shared!).
Anyway, a great novel. I was a little irked at when Vandergahast pulled out a wand on Giogi in Wyvern form and it worked to revert him back to a human, considering ALL the prior novels and source books say that the Wyvern is magic immune, and Flattery was higher level than Vangerdahast and if there was a form of magic that worked on the Wyvern it would have been discovered by Flattery or that an ARTIFACT would have no chance of being countered by a mere magic item, or that any way to counter the transformation wasn't mentioned in prior materials/novels, but whatever, contradict yourself it's your Realms Ed.
|
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 04 Aug 2008 : 17:28:16
quote:
Originally posted by Aaron Highcolor
That is, perhaps, the single greatest one line synopsis I have ever seen!
It's really not the easiest book to give a synopsis off. That said, the present day events of the novel are about the Abraxis Affair. The scenes from the past show how Cormyr became the land it is today. |
| Aaron Highcolor |
Posted - 03 Aug 2008 : 04:31:46
Well, I found a new copy of the paperback! It took me a trip to 5 bookstores in the Ft. Myers area, but I finally found one at the Borders (and I had a 30% off coupon -- WOOT!).
Why didn't I call before I left you ask? Because that would take the fun out of the search!
Of course, I KNEW Borders had a copy, but I thought there might have been a closer store. Oh well. Have to finish Tantras, but then I'm off to Cormyr (since my copy of Waterdeep hasn't arrived at the store yet!). |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 17:31:34
It is actually quite sad that Jeff had moved on from the Realms. With all of the stuff WotC pulls (off screen, that only they and the designers/writers see; and on screen, that we see, too), I do not blame him, but I miss him. |
| Aaron Highcolor |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 14:23:42
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Quick synopsis: Stuff happens, in Cormyr. 
That is, perhaps, the single greatest one line synopsis I have ever seen!
Heading down to BAM today to pick up my copy! |
| Chosen of Bane |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 12:57:04
I highly recommend it as well. One of my favorite realms novels of all time. |
| Jorkens |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 11:12:08
I would recommend it. As has been said he book is a mix of present day scenes and moments from Cormyrs history. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 05:38:46
Additionally, here's a little of what the Lady Hooded One had to say about the structure and writing of Cormyr: A Novel:-
"Certainly I'll have a stab at explaining.
Bill Larson, a veteran (and long since retired) editor, was in the chair for that book, but the "Michener history of a place with alternating chapters" idea was almost certainly Jeff Grubb's. Jeff asked Ed if he'd be interested in co-writing such a book; Ed enthusiastically said yes. Jeff asked Ed to list some important past events that should be covered, to make Cormyr what it is today. Ed provided a detailed list, and starting from that Jeff worked up a detailed plot, adding several "missing" past events that are examples of significant "corrupt power" and other elements he wanted to examine. So the final detailed plot is Jeff's work, and specifically the early Obarskyr history (after the dragons dispossed by elves) and the present-day Abraxus threat are Jeff's ideas.
Then the two friends wrote alternating chapters and passed them back and forth to each other for light rewrites (a commonplace practice today, but rarer in those pre-Internet, mail-the-diskettes days). Ed was the "primary writer" for all of the PRESENT-DAY scenes, and Jeff the primary writer for all of the HISTORICAL scenes. They did the whole thing in about a month (plus another week for polishing-rewrites), and Bill Larson called the result "Not nearly as bad as what I'd been led to expect." :}" |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 05:37:21
I believe the Lady Hooded One said it best when referring to Cormyr: A Novel:- "I think it's a masterful achievement." |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 05:26:48
Quick synopsis: Stuff happens, in Cormyr.
It's one of the best Realms novels we've had, in my opinion. The stuff about the founding of the Forest Kingdom -- all the way back to when it was ruled by the Purple Dragon himself (an actual dragon!) -- is wonderful.  |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 05:16:57
Yep, but it is history book written in a fun-to-read format that tells a story, not like those dry history books they make you read in school. |
| scererar |
Posted - 02 Aug 2008 : 04:39:20
If you are interested in the history of Cormyr, this is an excellent novel to have. |
